Lot To Thank Major For
Team GB are having their best Olympics for decades and the thanks could be laid at the feet of an unlikely source - ex-Prime Minister John Major.
It was John Major’s government that instigated the National Lottery (since renamed the “Lotto”) and this has been the primary source of funding for athletes ever since.
From the original days of the Lottery, British athletes were given approx £50m per year - in the last few years this has been increased to £100m, with one eye on London 2012, where they will hope to improve on this game’s success, in front of a home crowd.
The success has been truly remarkable, especially when held against Sydney and Athens, which also saw an improvement in total number of medals and even more so when compared to the performances of our National Teams in our “major” sports such as football and rugby, where money is no object.
Our top athletes are now receiving an average of £70k per annum. This sounds like a lot of money, but it doesn’t all go directly to the athletes themselves. It should be remembered that in order to compete at the very top these people need a mini entourage of physios, coaches and nutritionists, not to mention having to travel around the world to compete. On top of this they need to be able to live as well of course, so £70k disappears pretty fast. If you compare £70k per annum to the money received per week by Premiership Footballers for example it really is a drop in the ocean. Let’s not forget that the Football Club will supply the entourage and pay for first class travel if and when required, not to mention the odd winter break now and then.
Also, compare the lifestyles and dedication of the Premiership Footballer to the top athlete. Double gold medalist Rebecca Adlington for example, has an excruciating training schedule 6 days per week, motivating herself to get up at 5:00am, in swimming which is a sport which receives little or no exposure in this country.
The average footballer will train for a couple of hours a day (normally mid morning, certainly not at 5:00am) and play twice per week.
So why do people like Adlington do it? Because they are hungry for success and want to be the best in their chosen sport.
There are a few exceptions in the world of football i.e. players who play with passion week in week out, are hungry for success and don’t simply turn up in order to pick up their massive pay cheques at the end of each month.
However, there are a large number in my opinion who simply go through the motions and are not too concerned if they are dropped, win nothing or end up injured for a few weeks. As long as they are still being paid and can afford the mock Tudor house, sports car, WAG and bling they are happy. If all British footballers showed the same determination as our Olympic athletes, then I’m sure we would never have a problem qualifying for and maybe even winning the odd major tournament.
However, lets take this chance to bask in the success of Team GB, rather than talk about the over paid and under performing football teams. While we do that, let’s hope that John Major’s vision will go on reaping dividends for years to come and this success will encourage a few more couch potatoes away from their computers and out into the fresh air. Who knows it might even reduce the obesity academic in the process!