Aggrieved sporting clubs that missed out on desperately needed money are demanding more answers about why they were dudded in a scandal-ridden Federal Government sports grants program.

Key points: Victoria's Kyneton District Soccer Club was among the top-rated clubs to miss out

Victoria's Kyneton District Soccer Club was among the top-rated clubs to miss out President Ron Cole said a team of four worked for at least 100 hours to finish the application

President Ron Cole said a team of four worked for at least 100 hours to finish the application He asked Senator Bridget McKenzie to explain why it was not approved

Club representatives who spent hundreds of hours preparing applications in the hope of completing much-needed repairs to facilities, only to be overlooked by the Government, have labelled the process "gut-wrenching" and hit out at the "underhanded" tactics that appear to have been used.

The ABC yesterday revealed a spreadsheet developed by then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie's office, which detailed the rating Sport Australia gave clubs that applied for community sports funding.

It showed 94 of 223 projects deemed "successful" in the first round of Government funding failed to meet the threshold set by Sport Australia to receive funding.

Hundreds of unsuccessful applications received high scores, the National Audit Office found. ( Supplied: ANAO )

The ABC also revealed emails sent by Sport Australia executives to Senator McKenzie's office raising concerns about political interference in March last year, just weeks before Scott Morrison called the election.

The Kyneton District Soccer Club, from the Victorian Labor-held seat of Bendigo with a margin of 4 per cent before the last election, was among Sport Australia's top-rated clubs seeking funding but missed out when the Government made the final decision.

President Ron Cole said it was "disgusting" to learn Senator McKenzie rejected the club's $460,000 grant request despite Sport Australia giving it a rating of 87 out of 100.

Sport Australia set a rating threshold of 74 out of 100 in order to receive funding.

"It's disheartening to see that it has become basically a political game rather than clubs being awarded the funding on their merit," he said.

"To find out that other clubs have been funded that scored in the ranges of 50 is absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking to our club and to our members."

Mr Cole said a team of four worked for at least 100 hours to complete the application.

"We met on numerous occasions and they put an extreme amount of work to get this application up and make sure everything was correct as to the guidelines," he said.

"I'd like Bridget McKenzie to come down to Kyneton District Soccer Club in the middle of winter and stand in the middle of our ground and tell us our application didn't deserve merit to be funded."

The spreadsheet the ABC revealed showed how the Minister's office had colour-coded applications to represent which party held the electorate they were in.

An auditor-general report found there was a bias towards marginal seats, and those the Coalition wanted to win, in the lead-up to last May's election.

An application by the Goolwa District Pony Club in the independent-held marginal seat of Mayo in South Australia was also shunned, despite scoring 82 out of 100 under the merit-based process undertaken by Sport Australia.

President James Meyer said the club was seeking $40,000 to replace an ageing hut with a new concrete floor shed and water tank.

"We tried to keep it a relativity modest application, we weren't reaching for the stars," he said.

"To hear that the process has been tinkered with and influenced in ways that perhaps doesn't meet the integrity process that you presume is involved is a real shame.

"We can't move forward without some sort of grant funding."

Unsuccessful applicants with the highest scores

Sport Australia assessed around 2,000 applications as part of the sport grants scheme.

Scores were included in a spreadsheet obtained by the ABC.

This is a list of the applications that scored highest in the scheme, but were rejected for funding.

Score Applicant Denied State 98 Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby $44,909 VIC 97 City of Casey $500,000 VIC 95 Colac Otway Shire $500,000 VIC 95 Yarra Ranges Council $200,000 VIC 94 Cherry Gardens Ironbank Recreation Ground $480,621 SA 93 Yarra Ranges Council $200,000 VIC 93 King Island Council $425,300 TAS 92 Shire of Coolgardie $500,000 WA 90 City of Salisbury $500,000 SA 90 Coromandel Valley Ramblers Cricket Club $50,000 SA 89 Nillumbik Shire Council $500,000 VIC 89 Echunga Netball Club $40,000 SA 88 McLaren Football Club $50,000 SA 88 Pyrenees Shire Council $500,000 VIC 88 Adelaide Hills Hawks Football Club $27,850 SA 88 Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council $402,054 SA 87 Boxwood Hill Combined Sports Club $499,100 WA 87 Cassowary Coast Regional Council $500,000 QLD 87 Kyneton District Soccer Club $460,000 VIC 87 Chung Wah Association $50,000 WA 86.5 Corangamite Shire Council $127,574 VIC 86.5 Marree and District Progress Association $85,962 SA 86 Moira Shire Council $500,000 VIC 86 City of Albany $195,000 WA 86 City of Greater Bendigo $500,000 VIC 86 Yarra Ranges Shire Council $200,000 VIC 85.5 Toowoomba Regional Council $500,000 QLD 85.5 Shire of Wongan-Ballidu $500,000 WA 85.5 Wodonga City Council $160,000 VIC 85 Broadwater Rileys Hill Community Centre $4,777 NSW 85 Apex Club of South Wagga Wagga $385,448 NSW 85 Mid Murray Council $218,076 SA 84 Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council $500,000 QLD 84 Shire of Manjimup $498,145 WA 84 Tamworth Regional Council $432,304 NSW 84 Lobethal Tennis Club $3,372 SA 84 Anglesea Golf Club $380,000 VIC 84 Hindmarsh Shire Council $471,803 VIC 84 Barunga West Council $40,000 SA 84 Hawthorn Bowling Club $50,000 VIC 83 Melville Little Athletics Centre $25,000 WA 83 North Shore Country Club and Residents Association $500,000 WA 83 Port Fairy Tennis Club $50,000 VIC 83 Leeton Shire Council $496,344 NSW 83 City of Parramatta Council $500,000 NSW 83 Horsham Rural City Council $323,000 VIC 83 City of Bayswater $500,000 WA 83 Crystal Brook Golf Club $46,876 SA 83 City of Gosnells $500,000 WA 83 Glen Eira City Council $213,675 VIC

About the data

This table is based on the spreadsheet obtained by the ABC, which appears to be an early version created by the Minister's office during assessment of applications.

Recipients of grants were manually removed from the spreadsheet, leaving the top 50 unfunded clubs.

Do you know more about this story? Contact jack.snape@abc.net.au