Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley calls for national lottery to boost future Aussie sports stars funding

With fears Aussie sports could see future funding restricted, Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley believes a sports lottery could push athletes to be the best.

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley has called for a radical shake-up of Australian sports funding that would see lottery finances used to bankroll our brightest athletes.

With the Australian Open set to take over Melbourne for two weeks, Mr Tiley proposed a UK-style sports lottery to support sporting codes governing grassroots through to professional talent in uncertain economic times.

“There is no country that has sport like this country,’’ he said.

“In my view we should be dominating the Olympics, we should be dominating world sport, dominating tennis.

“I definitely believe there is a way to do that.’’

In an exclusive interview with the Herald Sun, the Australian Open boss and chief executive of the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports – which boasts the AFL, NRL, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia and Netball Australia as members – predicted sporting bodies overly reliant on government handouts would face “an economic issue into the future’’.

“We are going to have to look at a different way of doing things,’’ he said.

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley has floated a sports lottery for Aus. Pic: Mark Stewart

“I personally believe that the availability of government funding will be more restricted and also people’s discretional income is definitely going be curtailed.

“It’s coming, everyone lives for the day. I don’t think we are looking too much into the future. We (Tennis Australia) will be prepared for that.’’

Mr Tiley said change was needed to make Aussie sports successful and sustainable.

And a model similar to the British lottery system, which helps fund UK teams, athletes and lure major events, was an obvious option.

“I think there needs to be another form of funding,’’ he said.

“It’s Lotto. I think that is the one that is immediately in front of you. A lot of people are going to disagree with that but that is a way to fund sport.

“Sport impacts every Australian in some way, and positively too, it’s a preventive opportunity when it comes to health as well. That is where the investment needs to be.’’

The UK model has invested almost $10bn into community sport since 1994, helped pay for sports oval and change room upgrades and been credited for boosting participation rates.

It has also funded UK Sport, helping Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes win more than 870 medals since 1997.

If introduced in Australia, the model could see Lotto funds flow to leagues such as the AFL, national teams such as the Socceroos and Matildas and green and gold squads competing on the world stage.

Former Australian Sports Commission chair John Wylie called for a UK-style lottery to fund Aussie athletes following the nation’s dismal showing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when it missed its medal target by half.

Former Australian Sports Commission chair John Wylie has previously backed the idea. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Australian Sports Foundation chief executive Patrick Walker agreed it was “unsustainable for governments to fund all investment in sporting organisations and athletes”.

“As we embark on the green and gold decade towards Brisbane 2032, the burden on sporting organisations will increase further to meet participation demands,’’ he said.

“And the cost of preparing athletes, and philanthropic investment needs to be a core part of the funding mix.’’

He said there had “been discussion around establishing a UK-style lottery in Australia for many years’’.

“But a sports lottery, as with other forms of gambling, presents potential risks of social and personal harm,’ he said.

State Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos refused to directly answer questions about whether the lotto system could help fund Australian sport.

“The love of sport runs deep in the culture of Victoria and we’re proud to back sport across the state,’’ he said.

Originally published as Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley calls for national lottery to boost future Aussie sports stars funding