The New Zealand Amateur Sport Association has urged governing bodies to better support their sports clubs after a recent survey revealed the extensive financial struggles nearly two-thirds of New Zealand clubs face.
A recent survey undertaken by the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association in partnership with the Auckland University of Technology found that of the 1000 New Zealand sports clubs surveyed, more than 60 per cent struggled to break even each year.
More than 70 per cent of clubs reported receiving no direct funding from any governing body, despite 90 per cent having to pay affiliation fees or levies and more than 40 per cent without any financial sponsor.
Indicating that the belief members and volunteers should run the clubs was not sustainable, the survey identified a need for more resources in order for clubs to remain viable in the future and concluded that governing bodies could do more to help clubs meet daily operating challenges.
New Zealand Amateur Sport Association chairman, Gordon Noble-Campbell, said amateur sports clubs played a huge role in communities and that governing bodies needed to act fast.