A fairer level of State Government funding which more accurately represents the World Game’s position as Tasmania’s most played team sport sits top of Football Tasmania’s State Budget wish list.
Football Tasmania CEO Matt Bulkeley said it was time for a fair go for football as the peak body for soccer launched a new wesbite to enable the community to show their support at https://fairgofortasfootball.com.au/
“Football Tasmania has made a submission regarding the 2020-21 budget, which outlines the areas we believe are key to ensuring the state’s most played and fastest growing team sport can continue to flourish and enrich the lives of Tasmanians,” Mr Bulkeley said.
“At the same time that some sports are seeing declining participation, Football Tasmania’s biggest challenge is dealing with continual growth in demand to play football, which is only likely to increase now Australia has been selected host of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
“With Ausplay statistics estimating over 38,000 people already play the world game in Tasmania, football is more popular than any other sport in the state, yet it continues to receive just a fraction of the funding provided to other sports.
“We are seeking our fair share of funding to expand our focus on increasing access to junior participation in low socio-economic areas, pushing towards complete gender equality in football and increasing our engagement in schools.
“We’re also proposing a partnership with the Department of Education to upgrade a number of school facilities to a standard which can be utilised for football in out-of-school hours.
“We believe these asks are reasonably modest when you take into account football’s position as the most played sport in Tasmania and the resulting community and economic benefit the World Game already brings to the state."
Football Tasmania has encouraged all members of the Tasmanian Football family to show their support for more funding, by heading to https://fairgofortasfootball.com.au/ and signing the petition.
The more of us that get on board, the more success we will have in letting Government know that the World Game is Tasmania’s Game too.