Several Sporting Bodies Cite Pain, Division on Australia’s National Day

Many Australian sporting clubs have issued statements opposing the national day.

Siblings, Nora B., 3, and Aerglo B., 5, celebrate Australia Day, a national holiday, at Bronte Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan. 26, 2026. Audrey Richardson/Getty Images

As Aussies braved the sun for a spot of beach cricket on Australia Day, numerous sporting organisations issued statements calling for a change of date or have called the celebration a “painful reminder” of colonialism.

Australia Day commemorates the day Captain Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney Cove on Jan. 26, 1788, the start of British colonisation of the continent.