The Queensland Election: the promises for the sporting community

Queenslanders will go to the voting booths on October 26th, as the political campaigns ramp up for the final weeks, below are the outlined sporting election promises from major parties.

A big issue for voters at this year’s election is the growing development for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games and the expensive ordeal that comes with hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

Outlined below are the promises and plans made by the differing parties.

Queensland Labor Party

The Queensland Labor Party is focused on the 2022 Activate! Queensland Strategy Accelerated its 5-year plan to 2025 and has recently brought out several sporting grants for next year to assist Queenslanders in grassroots sport.

The Minor Infrastructure Fund utilises 45 million dollars to make local sports grounds safe, easily accessible and encourages more inclusivity in the sporting environment.

Fair play vouchers under the new premier Steven Miles have been revamped with vouchers being upgraded from $150 to $200 to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. The Number of vouchers has also been upgraded number from 50,000 to up to 200,000.

The Community and Recreational Assets Recovery and Resilience Program, assisted by the federal government is a 75-million-dollar project to help sporting facilities damaged by the natural disasters of 2021-22.

The Labor party made headlines when it was decided that it wouldn’t build new venues for the 2032 Olympics, however, they did invest to restructure current venues.

Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP)

Recently the Liberal party leader at Pine Rivers Football Club committed to investing 3.8 million dollars to the local facility. This launched the party’s proposed sports program Games On!

Up to 250 million dollars dedicated to grassroots sporting clubs up to the 2032 Olympics. This funding will help deliver new or upgraded fields and courts, clubhouses, changerooms, or lighting.

David Crisafulli running state premier for the LNP has also said they will do a 100-day review on the infrastructure for the Olympic games and if there is a need for private and public funding for a new stadium for the Olympics.

The Queensland Greens

The Greens have been more vocal about sporting options announcing a $2.53 billion sporting package aimed at getting every young Queenslander into the game.

The Free Season pass plan will offer every Queenslander under 18 one free sporting program and a $150 equipment bonus costing $381 million on a four-year program.

Local sporting clubs are set to receive a major boost with $25,000 annual grants for registered clubs. The Greens are investing $50 million yearly to accommodate an expected surge of 110,000 new players.

Additionally, 200 million dollars will be dedicated to securing new sporting fields, with a strategic focus on flood-prone areas and high-growth suburbs facing space shortages.

Overall, all parties mentioned have delivered a range of plans to continue to support the sporting community in Queensland.

The Labor Party, as the current government is maintaining their original strategy from years past till 2025, more expansive plans will have to come later, though not expressing them leaves questions for their future endeavours.

The Liberals have announced their major funding but haven’t presented the promise with much detail to the public, it’s an exciting endeavour and if they win the majority in the coming election, the public will demand more understanding of how this funding will work out.

The Greens have outlined a comprehensive strategy to help sport but their position as a minor party puts them in a difficult place for gaining any power to deliver.

Elections at the state level focus on the big issues at heart and sport, especially football, has many times taken the backseat.

However, football, the state’s most participated sport, holds great importance in the local communities and their reliance on government funding does not go unnoticed by the general public.

With the Olympic games putting the spotlight on the state, will these parties keep their promises to promote Queensland sports and football? Time will tell.

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MLS soccer wraps up record season

The 2024 Major League Soccer regular season was the most successful for the American-based football competition yet. The regular season wrapped up in October and shattered several records, proving that the competition is in a healthy state and set up for long-term success.

More fans are consuming the MLS product than ever before, and it is experiencing year-over-year growth. Growing soccer in America has proven to be challenging, but the record-setting attendance highlights the breakthrough MLS is achieving.

The attendance average for the MLS season was the highest in the league’s history, at 23,234 fans per regular-season game, a +5.1% increase from the 2023 MLS regular season. In total, 11.4 million fans attended matches during the regular season, smashing the 2023 number of 10.9 million.

These figures will grow throughout the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, from October 24th to December 7th. Based on their regular season numbers, MLS has projected that they will be in the top three across all soccer leagues globally in terms of attendance average after the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, alongside the English Premier League and Bundesliga.

Due to the successful season, the league has experienced a 13% sponsorship revenue increase and a 13% club sponsorship revenue increase compared to the 2023 MLS season.

Ten out of the 29 clubs beat or tied their regular season attendance average, this statistic highlights communal growth beyond the Lionel Messi effect and keeps the league in a healthy spot going forward.

MLS social media grew faster in 2024 than the rival major men’s North American sports leagues, which consist of the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League.

  • MLS TikTok saw a 26% growth in followers
  • MLS YouTube saw a 21% growth in subscribers
  • MLS Instagram saw a 10% growth in followers

The MLS x Adidas Archive Collection was credited with huge financial success, and on July 16, 2024, the MLS retail store had its most successful day in history.

Beyond the American audience, MLS has been making waves in the European market. Attempts to expand the league overseas were pioneered by opening 800+ MLS retail stores across France, Spain, Germany, and other major European countries in partnership agreements with Primark and Bershka retail stores.

The broadcast deal between MLS and Apple TV, signed in 2022 for 10 years and worth 3.7 billion dollars, has injected valuable funds into the league to improve its overall product from broadcasting and on-field standpoints.

Apple TV, which broadcasts all MLS games, invites fans to easily access the league while airing MLS content beyond the live match broadcast. The investment has shown success since 2023, but fans have criticised the league for its match scheduling, Apple TV broadcasts in 100 countries, so the platform opportunity for MLS is substantial.

The mass financial figure has been credited with being a key reason why the league has been able to sign the likes of Lionel Messi, an 8-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and the captain of the 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning side Argentina.

The bigger picture for the MLS competition will be the continual rise of quality international players choosing to sign into the MLS and improving the match quality. The 2024 MLS season had a very successful summer transfer window, including star players Olivier Giroud, France’s all-time leading goal scorer, and Borussia Dortmund and Germany international Marco Reus.

Common fan complaints have been centred around the season’s kick-off in February and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs finishing in December. The lengthy season means that the league is miserable to attend during winter from a fan’s perspective, the freezing and windy weather hurts the product, while thunderstorm delays have been common for the league in these cold months.

MLS games being played in Canada and Northeast America during the winter months will continue to jeopardise the product and growth of the sport.

Additionally, the gripes come from the lack of pauses throughout the 10-month season, which leads to a mass exodus of players from MLS teams during the international break, again hurting the product.

Given that the competition has 29 teams, broadcasting the matches in the evening on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with rare occasions when matches are played in other time slots, has made it challenging for football enthusiasts to follow the league as a whole.

Hosting games in earlier windows invites a family aspect to the matches, with Saturday/Sunday afternoon games working for the Premier League.

A huge positive of the Apple TV broadcasting deal is MLS 360, which takes fans all around the league with live coverage of the matchday. MLS 360 showcases the best action of every game, from goals to saves, play-by-play and analyst breakdowns of teams.

The analyst and play-by-play team consists of 60 people broadcasting in English and Spanish. Key football minds hosting the MLS 360 are Kevin Egan, Sacha Klejstan, Kaylyn Kyle, and Bradley Wright-Phillips.

As the MLS prepares for the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, a recent change in playoff formatting kicked off in 2023 and proved to be a successful business model. The format was changed to include a best-of-three series with no ties and a mix of single individual knockout matches.

Also, allowing 19/29 MLS teams into the playoffs from a business standpoint meant more matches, more revenue, and more opportunities to grow the league as a whole.

Each MLS team has a fluid salary cap, this is to keep the league fair for all teams and give each team an equal opportunity to win on paper. There are ‘designated players’, such as Messi, who each team is allowed to sign even if it breaks the salary cap in an attempt to boost the league’s big-name talent. 

The absence of a regulation/promotion system and a player draft awarding lower-ranked teams with better talent is a welcome site for struggling teams to rebuild faster. This system improves the quality of the MLS competition and is a tool to prevent lopsided affairs. 

Garber has credited MLS teams’ business approach to investing in soccer-specific stadiums with the growth of team evaluations. Investing significant funding into building these stadiums for teams to risk relegating would harm the league and its revenue/team sponsorship. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America is gearing up to be a potential takeover opportunity for American soccer. MLS is expecting mass residual effects from this, similar to Australia and New Zealand hosting the 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup.

The MLS’ business-savvy approach to running the league and ability to adapt to the sporting landscape surrounding it in an oversaturated sports market has worked in favour of the league. There’s a lot to be excited about looking at the future landscape for the MLS.

This league’s continual growth and development have fans in the box seat to enjoy some of the best football action in the world.

Victorian LGAs receive grants for community sports facilities

Community Recovery Grants Program

The Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund (RCSIF) and the 2024-25 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSIF) are giving regional and metropolitan communities opportunities to develop their sporting facilities. The fund aims to support all abilities and women-focused infrastructure.

The RCSIF has highlighted a focus on planning, designing, and building indoor stadiums, female facilities, aquatic facilities, and communal and all-ability facilities. This plan ensures sports participation opportunities for all community members.  

The 2024-25 LSIF allows metropolitan and regional communities to receive funds to create active recreational community projects. These include sports courts, lights, play spaces, change rooms, and skate parks. 

Additional grants of $50,000 for Victorian LGAs through RCSIF to boost community participation are also available. 

The Victorian Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spencer, spoke on the investment opportunity for metropolitan and regional communities.

“By upgrading facilities and removing barriers to entry, we are making sure even more people can get involved in local sport in their own communities,” he said via press release.

“These funds are making sure all Victorians, no matter where they live, have world-class sporting facilities.”

The comprehensive initiative is a welcome investment into a sustainable community activity area, encouraging LGAs to invest in their area. A project of this magnitude is a win for the long-term development of football in Victoria. From female to accessible athletes, they are huge and deserving beneficiaries of this project fund.

RCSIF has significant financial backing from the Regional Community Sport Development Fund and the All Abilities Sports Fund. The first round of funding invested $20 million in these Victorian communities across 26 infrastructure projects. Regional development opportunities will flourish, bridging the city-country gap in Victoria. 

Regional and metropolitan communities can apply for these investment grants as round 2 is now open for applicants. RCSIF round 2 closes on the 17th of March 2025, and LSIF round 2 closes on the 17th of February 2025. 

For more information about the programs and how to apply, visit Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund.

Also for the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, click here.

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