The AOC has congratulated Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) and the Victorian Government following today's announcement that the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be hosted in Victoria.
AOC Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll welcomed the decision by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to bring the Games to Victoria, creating an exciting opportunity for sport in Australia.
“With Brisbane hosting the 2032 Olympic Games, we now have a second major home Games in prospect. The Olympic and Commonwealth Games share so many member sports.
“This is an exciting time for those sports - with 12 of the 16 sports on the sports programme announced to date are also established Olympic sports. My congratulations to Ben Houston and Craig Phillips for their hard work in bringing this event to Australia.
“We have spoken about the green and gold runway leading into Brisbane 2032. Now to host a Commonwealth Games in 2026 is a major marker on that runway.
“This year we have the FIBA Women’s World Cup (basketball) and the UCI World Road Championships (cycling). In 2023 the FIFA World Cup for women (football) and potentially Rugby World Cups (men) in 2027 and 2029 (women) – more than 30 major global sporting events are coming to Australia across the next ten years.”
Mr Carroll says these events that will deliver direct economic return to the country through tourism, infrastructure, technology, education and health.
“This is why we have developed a Sport 10+10 strategy in conjunction with CGA that seeks to create the funding certainty needed to deliver these benefits for sport high performance and participation.
“The Sport: Powering Australia’s Future (10 +10) submission to the 2021 Intergenerational Review delivers the way forward for Australia sport. The AOC and CGA have provided a collective vision for the future.
“Sport brings health, educational and wellbeing benefits to the community and can play a pivotal role in getting Australians active, reducing obesity and other health related problems including mental illness.
“The Intergenerational Review of Australian Sport predicted Australia will face $88 billion of extra health and social cost over the next 10 years if nothing is done about obesity – sport can help avert this crisis. Sport can assist government to lift national pride, provide social cohesion and promote Australia’s reputation globally.
“We want to assist Commonwealth, state and territory governments in addressing our intergenerational challenges. That’s why the sports industry is calling for a role in policy development.
"We need a National Sport Event Strategy for major sporting events to ensure benefits and legacy are maximised,” Mr Carroll concluded.
