The Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games can beat the Poms’s recent efforts, but we need more support
Australia’s success at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year was not the product of luck.
It took years of preparation in funding and a broad commitment from the federal government and its agencies to support sports and their athletes as they strove to win gold for Australia.
The results speak for themselves. A finish atop the medal tally with 178 medals won, including: 67 gold, 57 silver and 54 bronze, and a win over our greatest rival England.
The community benefit of the Commonwealth Games extends beyond the medal tally, too.
A post-Games research paper published by the Australian Sports Commission confirms that 18 million Australians (more than 70 per cent of the population) watched, listened or read media coverage about the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Critically, 67 per cent of these people reported that they saw something that made them proud or want to participate in sport.
The 12 days of competition also topped the YouGov Global Sports Rankings, generating the most buzz of any sporting event in Australia last year – eclipsing the FIFA World Cup, the Australian Open, the NRL State of Origin and the AFL Grand Final.
It is safe to say the Australian public has come to expect a certain level of success from its Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic teams.
A sober analysis of our recent results, however, shows these high-level performances are not sustainable under the federal government’s current investment level.
For success to continue on and off the field a serious investment must be made.
It is a truism that the success of a home Commonwealth Games is dependent on the success of the home team.
Do Victorians, or indeed Australians, want to see their hometown heroes edged out by an athlete wearing the red and white of England in three years? We are confident they do not.
There’s nothing worse than losing to our old rival, and complacency is a sure-fire way to see Australia’s lead in total medals won whittled down to nothing more than a distant memory.
Commonwealth Games Australia implores the federal government to commit the necessary preparation funding for the 20 program sports through to December 2026.
We also call for a $10m per annum uplift in preparation funding, echoing the clear precedent established by the federal Coalition government in committing $15m to boost our athletes’ preparation as they readied themselves for competition on the Gold Coast. This is not a substantial ask.
This pragmatic approach considers the national financial position, cost of living and other pressures experienced by Australians.
We are not naive enough to believe sport funding should take precedent over other critical investment, but we take confidence in the knowledge that team success is enthusiastically embraced by the overwhelming majority of Australians.
An extension by 12 months accounts for just 0.08 per cent of the $105.8bn forecast to be spent on health by the government this financial year.
When weighed against the government’s own multiplier for return on investment in sport of $7 for every $1 spent, the question really becomes how can we afford not to make this investment.
Victoria 2026 will also provide the state with a critical opportunity to introduce the picturesque and accessible regions to the world.
It will deliver a legacy of affordable and social housing, improved infrastructure for thriving communities and thousands of jobs.
The economic analysis shows the Games will contribute more than $3bn to Victoria’s economy, creating 7500 jobs, made up of almost 600 full-time equivalent jobs before the Games; 3900 during the Games; and a further 3000 beyond the closing ceremony.
Let’s not jeopardise the unique opportunity by complacency and a failure to invest in the critical ingredient of any home Games: the Australian team.
By investing in their success, we will achieve the one thing locals and visitors alike will remember: Victoria’s successful delivery of the first-ever regional Commonwealth Games led by an all conquering Australian team.
During the darkest days of the Covid pandemic, our green and gold athletes lifted the nation at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Last year they carried us forward again at Birmingham. Imagine what they can do for us in three years in our own backyard across Victoria. They don’t ask for much and they give us so much in return.
Let’s make Victoria 2026 a signature success for athletes and spectators alike – an accelerator for the green and gold runway to 2032, not an embarrassing drubbing from the Poms.
Craig Phillips is the Chief Executive of Commonwealth Games Australia.
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