The government is pushing to move more sporting events to New Zealand after the World Cup ends
The success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup has firmly established New Zealand on the world stage of sporting events, but there are concerns that Aotearoa will drop the ball once the tournament is over.
More than 340,000 fans watched nine games at Eden Park in Auckland.
The record attendance at a football match in New Zealand – whether women’s or men’s – has been broken three times and the last three games at Eden Park have been sold out.
Toni Bruce, a professor of sport sociology at the University of Auckland, said the next government needs to keep the momentum going.
“There have always been moments in the past where it suddenly came down to women’s sport and everyone was really excited about it and we thought things were going to change and then it all fell away,” said Bruce.
“With the development of new competitions and the journey from young girls to professional athletes, it could mean that this is indeed the moment for women’s sport to find its place.”
Bruce said the National Media Coverage Survey also had a big impact, as the media could see how little they covered about the events.
Coverage has increased from 11% in 2008 to 28% this year.
“When the media pays attention, it tells the public that this is an important activity. So that’s another kind of layer that builds the idea that women’s sport is actually super exciting and it’s important to watch,” she said.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited is responsible for the city’s economic development and for hosting high-profile events in the city.
Earlier this year, the agency lost 200 jobs as the city council cut its budget.
Richard Clarke, director of arts, entertainment and events, said the tournament set a benchmark for major sporting events in New Zealand.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s men or women. I think that’s the really exciting outcome of a lot of conversations and outcomes from this event. We can start to get past gender comparisons and just appreciate them as amazing events in their own right.”
More than 85,000 people visited the Auckland fan zone and accommodation bookings increased by 51.4% compared to the same period last year.
“Feedback, particularly from Auckland tourism suppliers, says they saw a significant increase in bookings during this July-August period. Had the tournament not happened these would generally have been very lean months,” Clarke said.
However, these benefits could be short-lived if funds were not available to bid for future global events.
“An event like the one we just had takes eight to ten years or more to secure the planning and bidding process. This type of work needs to be underway now for these future events. There’s just not a lot of clarity about where the funding for them is supposed to come from.”
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said he was willing to fund more global events in New Zealand.
“It’s important that we have a good pipeline of international events so that we can pick the event that we’re really good at running and supporting.”
“We need to build this pipeline over the coming years so that it develops our infrastructure, strengthens our sports, our tourism and the appeal of New Zealand,” Luxon said.
Labour’s sport and leisure spokesman Grant Robertson said that if re-elected the party would remain focused on encouraging and inspiring women and girls in sport.
“We will build on the first-ever sports strategy for women and girls that we created in 2018.
“A Labor-led government will continue to fund the Major Events Fund, as we have throughout our tenure, to promote international tournaments that benefit the country,” Robertson said.
Meanwhile, Taupō hopes to capitalize on FIFA and put New Zealand on the world’s radar after committing to three years from 2024 as the home of V8 supercars.
Mayor David Trewavas said it was expected to attract 30,000 people each day.
“There is some impetus for tourism businesses, accommodation providers, retail and all types of service industries. Not only for Taupō, but also for the region. Rotorua and Hawke’s Bay will also benefit from this event. Everyone in the Central North Island will benefit from being able to make business-to-business contacts. This is a wonderful opportunity.”
Auckland’s next big event was the international sailing competition SailGP in March next year, followed by the largest global choral competition – the World Choir Games – in July.
By Emma Stanford for rnz.co.nz
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