...to think that spending £50m on football is obscene when people are using food banks?

[FurryDogMother]

Telegraph link

I just can't get my head around this government's priorities - no doubt someone out there can help me make sense of this?

[Nancy66]

I think it's a good idea.

[FurryDogMother]

Why do you think that, Nancy?

[Nancy66]

football is traditionally a game played by working class kids. More academies and training fields are a good idea. Promoting sport, health and fitness is very important.

[UncleT]

Where is the line drawn though? It's not news that public money is invested in sport. One could save far more than fifty million by scrapping a few military assets, or by slashing funding of the arts. After all, theatre is surely not more important than starving people? Maybe we should stop every aspect of our frivolous excess which holds any fun or interest and save millions of humans all over the world with the money saved.

[Toomuchjiggleinmywiggle]

Sport is no longer just sport. It is a tool now used by the government to tackle many many issues - social inclusion, anti social behaviour, racism, obesity, mental health, unemployment etc etc. more people more active = less people needing excess NHS care, more likely to be engaged in society and less so in anti social behaviour . Football has a global reach and has a popularity unrivalled in England. only slightly bitter it wasn't being shared with other sports, might make my job a bit easier

[TimelyNameChangey]

Nancy I think the majority would do better with some jobs to go to...and the facilities to educate them well. Not boarded up youth clubs and special needs centres being closed down.

A fucking library might be nice too.

[FurryDogMother]

As important as being able to afford to eat nutritious food, though? Football is hardly an impecunious sport - why aren't the clubs who can afford to pay their professional payers millions of pounds a year covering the costs of grass-roots football? Also note that George Osborne is referring to 'the' national team - by which I assume he means the male team....

[Empha14]

Spending on the creation of sports fields/centers is good.

But team (let's call them business' because that's what they are now) spending upwards of £50 million on A player is abhorrent. Real Madrid spending £80 million on bale in a country with mass youth unemployment and an economy which is literally in the toilet is just disgusting.

France had the right idea when PSG and Monaco were bought by billionaires. Saying that footballers earning over x amount had to pay 110% tax. Never actually made it to law though.

[FurryDogMother]

UncleT - I agree with you in that I think the line is drawn in many inappropriate places, this being just one of them!

[DoraGora]

I do understand the frustration. But, local outreach volunteers, I think, are part of the solution to food poverty. In some circumstances, children can be eating fried eggs on toast for weeks, while the wage earner is out spending 4.20 on a pint of beer.

I'm not a Daily Fail reader, who thinks that every foodbank user is the scum of the earth and has squandered Mother Nature's resources. But, from my time on the front line, I have learned that there are some serious problems out there.

[Nancy66]

Timely - libraries aren't being shut for no reason. they're being shut because people don't really read any more.

Not everyone is academic. Kids that excel at football tend not to be.

and, in the grand scheme things, £50million isn't really that much money.

[Toomuchjiggleinmywiggle]

The Premier League contribute hugely substantial amounts into community programmes that are not focused around only football. The PL Clubs all have a community arm/ foundation that works with groups that are hard to engage with but football breaks down that barrier. I sound like a football fan, I'm not, but I work in the sports industry and really believe you shouldn't underestimate it's importance

[Mrsstarlord]

50m...Just on football?

Fecking ridiculous - invest in sport / fitness more generally, in inclusive sport in particular but to limit it to football because you want to be the best in the world?

Even better, stop building on green spaces, maintain play areas, promote active play in day to day life, but no - lets just pile shit loads of money into one sport so we can be better at it.

What a tosser

[Bulbasaur]

Bluntly, poor people are a bad investment.

Invest 50m in a football team and you'll likely make a profit or at least your money back.
Invest 50m in a food bank you'll never see your money again.

Until you can get charities and social programs to turn over a profit, rich people won't invest in them unless they're into philanthropy.

[cherrymix]

Grass roots football is a great way of promoting health & fitness and can also provide jobs - there are many football related jobs other than just footballer e.g. coaching which could lead to a job as PE teacher, refereeing, shops that supply and print kit, groundsman etc.

Our local football club runs youth squads and on development days they do things like cooking, nutrition and stuff other than football. My DS has made many friends from many different backgrounds through football and being in a local club can help kids make contacts with the wider working community.

Playing for a club involves commitment and self discipline - all skills which can help lead to employment.

Its easy to look at the premier league and see a load of overpaid divas but behind that are many many kids who are really benefitting from involvement with a local club and adults who are putting in unpaid hours to help their local community.

[Mrsstarlord]

But why just football? Why not sport in general; athletics, rugby, basketball, swimming etc.

Do we only have one sport?

[raltheraffe]

It will take more than 50 mill for us to have a half decent football team.

[winkywinkola]

"Timely - libraries aren't being shut for no reason. they're being shut because people don't really read any more."

Really? REALLY? People just stopped reading? What utter and total cobblers. Libraries are being shut because it's easy to shut them and stop people reading.

Whoever wrote this really needs to visit a library asap and get educated.

"and, in the grand scheme things, £50million isn't really that much money."

Yeah, but I bet it would keep a library open for a while. A priceless service for not "that much money."

[DoraGora]

Tax breaks are philanthropy. The problem with capitalism has always been that it's a triangle with a few people at the top and lots of people at the bottom. Marx had a solution, which was that the rich people would pay the poor people to displace them. But, we're still waiting!!

[Toomuchjiggleinmywiggle]

This is extra investment- the government provides funding for many governing bodies of sport on a 4 year cycle- www.sportengland.org/our-work/national-work/national-governing-bodies/sports-we-invest-in/

More info found on that link! Sport England is the body the cash goes through

[Toomuchjiggleinmywiggle]

Sorry not sure how to do links on phone!

[DoraGora]

www.sportengland.org/our-work/national-work/national-governing-bodies/sports-we-invest-in/

[atoughyear]

There is no money in grass roots football. I think this is a good use of £50m.

[AMerryScot]

I don't think it is the role of government to support food banks.

[Toomuchjiggleinmywiggle]

Thanks Dora