National Government Bodies of Sport are being held back by the sometimes costly financial risks of hosting and organising large sporting events it has been revealed. A study by the Sports and Recreation Alliance has claimed that a huge 67 per cent of NGB’s see the financial risks involved with hosting large, worldwide events as the biggest obstacle in placing a bid.
Despite the success of the London Olympics, large sporting events like the Rugby World Cup (the rugby league version is being held across venues in the UK and Ireland in 2013 and the rugby union version is due to be hosted in England in 2015) or the Football World Cup present huge financial risks in some cases, causing trepidation in placing realistic bids to host them in the UK.
The Sports and Recreation Alliance has also criticised the government for not doing enough to support and stimulate interest in sport on a more grassroots level by supporting these local and national bids. The three main benefits of hosting large sporting events are that they provide a financial boost for organisers, increase a sport’s profile and exposure while improving facility infrastructure across the country.
Andy Reed, a spokesperson from the SRA explained, “our research has shown that the financial risk of holding major events is holding some governing bodies back,’ elaborating that “major events is a global growth market that is out there for the taking.”
He stressed that ‘greater local authority support as well as the government putting their proposed Major Events Bill into action would really help the UK to exploit the big opportunities that are out there more.”