Half the players, twice the funding: AFL's financial win over football

Questions over sports funding have resurfaced ahead of the 2019 federal election with AFL receiving twice as much in financial pledges from both major parties than football, despite having half as many regular participants.

The country's wealthiest and most profitable code continues to command the lion's share of funding pledges, with professional AFL clubs receiving more in promised commitments than the grassroots football facilities across Australia.

Lagging behind: FFA claims grassroots and women's football need facilities upgrades across the country.Credit: AP

Australian rules football has been promised more than $131 million in funding from either the Coalition or Labor party during this campaign, double that of football, its nearest rival which has been promised $66m . Netball has been promised $50m with $16m pledged to cricket by both major parties.

Of the total federal funding commitments pledged towards sports, facilities and organisations during this campaign, just shy of half has been allocated towards AFL - a sport whose governing body posted a profit of $50.4m last year. It is understood around 44 per cent of sports commitments have been set aside by federal parties for facility upgrades and administrative funding for the code.

Those cash commitments are not reflective of grassroots participation figures released by the government last week, suggesting 1.76 million Australians play football, almost twice as many as AFL which boasts 914,000 participants while 872,000 play netball.

Despite lagging behind football in participation, the popularity of the top tier of AFL has proven a major drawcard for federal funding during this election campaign, especially in marginal seats. More than $80m has been set aside specifically for professional clubs and their facilities, including a $25m pledge by Labor to co-fund a Tasmanian team, a $15m pledge by the Liberal party towards a Sydney Swans training centre and another $15m commitment by the Liberals towards Adelaide Crows' new headquarters. Both clubs recorded a profit in 2018. Football Federation Australia says all federal pledges towards football have been directed towards grassroots projects.

Inequality: the Swans have been promised $15m towards a new training centre despite turning a profit last year.Credit: AAP

When contacted by the Herald, an AFL spokeswoman declined to comment on the funding commitments the organisation has received during this election campaign, or its approach to government relations.

However, sources suggest one of the strengths of AFL's political nous in securing funding rests upon its own financial might. The organisation is understood to have secured fortunes in federal funding through joint commitments, whereby the AFL or clubs will match pledges from political parties.

A lack of resources has limited football's ability to co-fund projects with the government but it hasn't stopped Australia's most played sport from experiencing a significant improvement in terms of grassroots funding. WA Labor has pledged $20m towards a state community football centre in Perth, while Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie has put more than $12m towards a new precinct in Hobart. However, FFA chief David Gallop warned the game remains in desperate need of greater government assistance, in particular to cater for its female participants.

"We continue to press for facility funding across the country as our recent audit suggests that we are literally hundreds of millions of dollars behind where we need to be to make sure that boys, girls, men and women can play the game in decent facilities," Gallop said.

"This is particularly stark in relation to women’s football where situations continue to exist where girls are expected to get changed in cars [or] behind trees because of a lack of adequate dressing room facilities. As women and girls are our fastest growing sector, we continue to work with state federations to remind government of this urgency."