THE decision not to enter a bidding war for the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifiers may be a realisation that paying big money for one-off events is not the way to go.

In the past the ACT government has been keen to attract whatever it can in terms of major sporting events, but in the case of the Socceroos and the money required to bring them here for the qualifiers, there appears to have been a change in thinking.

With the Socceroos usually arriving only a day or so before they play, the lasting benefits are minimal.

Instead, the ACT government is keen to fund A League games involving the Central Coast Mariners and the Wellington Phoenix. The motivation appears to be that the Mariners will work in the Canberra community to promote the long-term development of the code while the Phoenix helps the government in its push for closer ties with Wellington.

I know some will be upset that the Socceroos won’t be coming to Canberra as part of the World Cup qualifiers, but the direction taken is understandable given the prospect of an A League team being based in Canberra remains a distant hope.

The long-term strategy is very evident with the deal for at least one international cricket game in Canberra each year, the GWS 10-year deal and the push for more Wallabies’ tests.

This approach seems to be paying off with the Wallabies set to play a test against Argentina next year, the one-day cricket internationals and a scheduled cricket test all pencilled in for Canberra. The hockey tests, involving the men’s and women’s teams, are another example of the local code promoting development of the sport and being rewarded to some degree with tests.

With an ACT election coming up, I’d be interested to find out whether this strategy will continue should there be a change of government or will there be a change in the approach taken to attracting major sport to Canberra?

The problem for the government is the money being paid by other centres to secure major sports events. These sports events attract significant tourism dollars, but Canberra often struggles to match the big dollars that other centres are willing to pay.

While Canberra should celebrate the events it has managed to attract, a long-term visionary approach needs to be maintained with each sports association having a role to play because it is the strength of a sport in this city that can potentially influence decisions and bring about change.