Tasmania United

You find some fascinating stuff on here - all archived online by not searchable by google.

I search for items of interested occasionally and found this recent hit for "soccer" :

Nick McKim - 1 July 2009 - The other matter that I would like to raise is soccer, or football, as some would have it, which is the ball sport I played as a kid.  I know that crunch time is upon us in relation to a Tasmanian national league soccer team.  I am sorry I was not at Estimates during this debate, if it occurred, but I wonder if the minister is able to tell us the extent of the Government's assistance to the group of people that are trying to progress this issue.  I have said to Ken Morton and various people associated with that effort that I very much support Tasmania having a stand-alone team in the national soccer competition.  I think it would be a very good thing for this State.

And another one from last year:

Mr McKIM - Just while we are on matters associated with that, Minister, is your department, or to your knowledge the Government, involved at all in progressing the issue of a team in the national soccer league - I think it is called football, but I will call it soccer - the Football Federation?

Ms O'BYRNE - I met with them a few weeks ago.  The move that is being presented has been presented by a consortium of business and community people.  It is not a government-engaged process.  They showed me their business plan, which I thought was extremely well constructed.  The thing that I probably liked the most out of it, as in any good business plan, is that they have stepped out what they need to achieve but also the points at which they would disengage from the process.  I think they have a reasonably structured approach to it, but that is something that they are doing independently.  It is not the Football Federation itself, it is the individual consortium.

Mr McKIM - There was no request for any assistance from government, is that correct?

Ms O'BYRNE - At that stage they were just wanting to enlighten us as to what their process is.  They are exploring a number of funding opportunities that might work.  They have looked at models - I think it might be Melbourne Storm that has not one financial backer but a whole host of them - and they think that that model might work.  I am interested to see how they progress that.

Mr McKIM - Would the Government entertain any future requests for assistance, should they be made?

Ms O'BYRNE - As I said, I would always look at things based on the opportunities to increase participation.  They clearly were not making an ask of me at that time, nor did the business plan indicate that there would be an ask.  I suppose the only time that you might get into any engagement that we might have would be under our facilities programs whereby it might have to do with the standard of grounds perhaps.

Mr McKIM - I was not necessarily referring to direct financial contributions.  You are quite right, the facilities may be in place and you would certainly entertain that on its merits if it was asked.

Ms O'BYRNE - As we do for applications for facilities across the board, bearing in mind that our applications also exceed my capacity to fund.

and later in the same conversation:

Ms O'BYRNE - Yes, netball is $600 000 over three years and soccer is $800 000 over four years so they are things that we sit down with, like football.  They get offended with me if I call it soccer and I was doing my very best not to in my meeting with them the other week.

Mr McKIM - I played it all through my childhood and it was soccer back then.

Ms O'BYRNE - It was soccer when I played it as well, Mr McKim, but I am prepared to allow them to have language changes if they wish.

Mr McKIM - That is fair enough too.

Nothing too exciting but its interesting to know what they think and say :)