I'm a believer that representing your country is a reward for performance (and for those out of form, talent that is justified) not those that can afford it.
The next question I have is, is De Jong going to ask Winston, Tommy and the lads to cough up their $2k? If the AWs qualify for the next WC and get their promised share (was it 40% so nearly $5m?) how is that going to look to parents that have to cough up $2k that can't afford it when these pro guys on average, make more than the going average salary...
Its not just for those who can afford it though. Those who can't afford it will receive help etc. He made that perfectly clear. Its not ideal, but its a reality. Pretty sensible imo. $2000 for a 3 week once in a lifetime trip to play in a World Cup is a bargain.
By asking kids to pay, NZF are pretty much saying they can't find $46K to cover the cost. I don't believe that for one moment. They are just about to sell out a stadium at $60 bucks a ticket. Take $2 of each ticket and that would cover it.
There still remains a question about what the cut off point is for families who can't afford it. How many people can they afford to waive the cost?
Remember there are a number of kids who are flying up to Auckland every few weeks to take part in camps just to make the squad. That cost adds up pretty quickly.
Yeah fair call that. I think I'm coming across as more concrete on my opinion than I actually am. JV is right, I think we are on the same sort of page. I'm just taking the position of 'well, if that's the reality of it...then I don't really have a problem with it'
But at the same time I recognise that its far from ideal. For most of the reasons that others have given (aside from the 'rich kids only' argument)
The cost is interesting. 46k per tournament adds up, considering the number of age group men's and women's tournaments we enter in. Someone else can do the math.