Guest blog writer - Dave Arthur, Southern Cross University, Australia
It seems that the rivalry between Australia and England when it comes to sport pales into insignificance when Australia’s three icon ‘football’ codes engage in a turf war. Australia’s bid (http://www.australia2018-2022.com.au/) to host in 2022 (2018 seems like a lost cause) has been handsomely supported by the Federal government to the tune of AUD46 million. Part of the FIFA edict to host the event is twelve, 40 000 plus seater stadia and a basic shut down of competing major events prior to and for the duration of the greatest show on Earth. This has led to both the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) being asked to suspend their respective competitions for reportedly up to ten weeks. In addition, some venues would be off limits including the Melbourne Cricket Ground and possibly Etihad Stadium both of which are pivotal to the effective running of the AFL competition. There are many aspects to be played out, including of course whether Australia will indeed get to host the event but some interesting questions could be posed… Should government support for one code over another be so blatant? Are there inherent dangers for a Government sport policy such as this?Can the needs of all three codes be catered for? If seasons are suspended should those affected (which could include rights holders, leagues, clubs, sponsors etc) be compensated? If so, by whom?
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