Professional sports in Australia are facing significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-existing financial issues. Before the pandemic, per capita spending on sports was declining and media rights deals and sponsorships were becoming more difficult to secure. The pandemic exposed that clubs were unprepared for severe financial shocks, lacking contingency savings or wage insurance. It may cause a reduction in attendance at games long-term due to social distancing requirements. This will particularly threaten sports with high cost structures like rugby union or those with narrower fan bases like new female leagues. Structural reforms are needed for clubs to survive, such as contingency funds and developing international markets.

1. Professional Football in Australia
John Mangan
Australian Institute for Business and Economics
University of Queensland

2. Covid-19 and
Professional Football
in Australia
A PERSONAL VIEW

3. Characteristics
of Professional
Sport in
Australia –
before COVD-
19
Media rights now more contested and sponsors more
discerning
Sports revenue function made up from attendance,
sponsorship, media rights, merchandise membership and
philanthropy
Overall per capita spending on sport and recreation has
fallen consistently over the last 5 years from $55.60 to
$49.70
Initially this has impacted in the Super - Rugby Competition
but is now starting to impact on A league, Netball and
Basketball
Market Saturation – heightened by the rapid and
unexpected growth in professional female sport

4. Fragility &
under-
preparedness
of clubs –
living with
COVID19
Clubs unprepared for severe shocks
No real “future fund” or contingency savings
Lack of wage insurance for players
Lack of managerial talent - ex players often
become CEO’s of clubs
Lack of skilled staff - compare and contrast
with US
By and large Australian concentration is on
domestic rather than international competition

5. What comes
next?
Clubs faced with excess costs - pressure on contracts
May even see the re-emergence of the part-time
professional
4 (8 including female counterparts) professional football
codes - not all will survive
Rugby union may go back to being a domestic club based
sport or seek merger with Rugby League
A league - look for sponsorship deals/player exchange with
overseas clubs - need expansion into Asia, starting with
Singapore
Media - more discerning with contracts
Structural reforms - contingency funds, wage insurance

6. Dire Predictions
New hygiene measures for mass event winter sports is
likely & will be costly to combat the annual flu season
(2,800 die per year from the flu)
This is another reason not to build super stadiums
The COVID19 social distancing measures could represent a
serious 'structural break' in terms of crowd attendance at
football games,
Pay-tv impact where people are more reluctant to go out to
games
Weakest sports structurally will be the most vulnerable NRL too
high cost structure, Union – declining mass support numbers
& narrow base, Female sport (new with low support base

7. CRICOS code 00025B
Thank you
Professor John Mangan
Director Australian Institute for Business and
Economics (AIBE)
jmangan@bel.uq.edu.au
07 3346 1630