A report into the community impact of football in NSW claims the grassroots level of the game contributes more than $417 million annually to the state’s economy – and FFA will use this data to push for better grassroots funding to meet growing demand.
The report released today (Monday) titled “The Community Impact of Football in NSW” was commissioned by state bodies Football NSW and Northern NSW Football and compiled by strategy and research consultancy SBP and economic and demographic analysts Street Ryan.
With a state election looming, FFA CEO David Gallop told the AFR (Australian Financial Review) the figures show the sport deserves a greater share of government funding.
"If we extrapolate this NSW data to a national level we can see that grassroots football contribution to the economy is delivering just over $1 billion per annum to the Australian community," Gallop said.
"It helps demonstrate with hard data why football is the ideal partner to help governments build vibrant communities."
The sport is growing at a phenomenal rate at the grassroots level, added Northern NSW CEO David Eland.
But he cited instances of facilities and infrastructure struggling to keep up with demand.
"We're growing at a faster rate than any other established sport. Our registrations are up 15 per cent on last year,” he told the AFR.
"That's driven by a combination of the sport's increasing popularity in its own right, helped by the Asian Cup success and our growing population, but a lack of local community infrastructure is seriously hampering our ability to cope with this demand.
“We have documented reports of clubs turning away players and of women having to change in public toilets simply because of a lack of facilities,” he said.
Football claims to have more than 365,000 participants in NSW alone, about 22% more than the three other football codes combined. Females account for 22% of the 291,000 registered players.
With a state election on March 28, these figures show football’s worth to the community at grassroots levels and the need for better funding to meet demand.
Figures quoted in the report regarding economic impact were calculated by measuring financial contributions from football clubs, players, referees, spectators, volunteers and businesses linked to the sport.