The West Australian Football Commission has undertaken the most comprehensive study ever into the economic and social benefits of local football to the WA community.
Completed by ACIL Allen, the report assesses the social and economic impact of club-based football in WA and provides a measurement tool that will enable the WAFC to track social return on investment (SROI) on an annual basis.
In an industry-first, the report uses club-based participation as the key metric to quantify the social returns of the entire industry, which identifies that the broad range of community benefits from WA football include:
Every dollar spent by club-based football in WA creates two dollars of economic activity.
WA footy generates over $220 million in economic benefits to WA.
$110 million is spent directly, including almost $16 million on supplies and services.
For every person employed by football directly, another job is created in the community.
In total, the equivalent of more than 1,400 full time jobs are generated by football across WA.
With the people employed by football directly also spending their money locally, the jobs created by football extend even further.
This creates jobs in industries as diverse as health, catering, cleaning, photography and grounds management.
Club-based footy generates an additional $225 million in social benefits to the community each year.
The research shows that being part of a footy club gives participants the equivalent of $3,000 worth of social benefits in areas such as mental and physical health and personal wellbeing.
Football is a sport that connects communities like no other, with 22 players and their families and friends interacting as part of the same team each week.
Participants are physically active for almost three hours per week each year – even more than the 150 minutes recommended by the Heart Foundation.
