Victorian clubs vow to ‘Save Clifton Park’

Liam Watson
Clifton Park
Image credit: Richard Breen

On Wednesday August 31, a ‘Save Our Park’ barbeque will be held to raise awareness for what a community’s future holds.

Located in Brunswick, Clifton Park is one of the most used facilities for the locals in the metropolitan Melbourne suburb. Part of the appeal is the current playing surface, which is made up of pure synthetic material and will not suffer major damage from wear and tear.

However, a complication has arisen, with the contrary view from councillors of their plan to rip up the trusty synthetic and replace it – prompting fear from clubs who believe the playing surface is not one that should make way.

The main sticking point is where to spend a budgeted $650,000 in 2023-24. Instead of resurfacing Clifton Park with general maintenance, the money is intended to go towards getting rid of the synthetic and replacing it with natural turf.

Two of the clubs involved in the campaign – Pascoe Vale FC and Brunswick Zebras – are united in the view that eradicating the synthetic is not the solution, and that councillors need to listen to valuable opinions of those at the heart of the facility and know the ins and outs of its value.

It is hoped that the upcoming get together on Wednesday night will be a turning point in what would work towards an ideal outcome, where Pascoe Vale FC Chairman Lou Tona is one of the supporters.

“We’d love it if the entire football community could come down and support the Clifton Park pitch,” he said to Soccerscene.

“It’s an important piece of infrastructure that we want to keep – we’re not asking for another playing surface, it’s just to maintain the one we’ve got.

“We desperately need it because normal grounds cannot cope and leads to cancellations of training, across all codes.

“The synthetic pitch is required and we can’t afford for it to be taken away.”

Part of the argument for the proposed synthetic pitch removal is concerns surrounding the harm that it may cause, related to health and the environment.

This was outlined by Cr Angelica Panopoulos of the Greens:

“By June 2023, Council will develop a report concerning the damaging effects that synthetic materials like fake grass have on human health and the environment, such as urban heat, excess water usage and plastic waste,” Panopoulos said in a statement.

While the statement covers genuine issues, it does not factor in community and sporting needs that Clifton Park best serves.

Essentially, there needs to be a more widespread view on what contributes to health and environment problems, rather than signalling out the synthetic pitch as a problem.

In a statement by Brunswick Zebras – another club backing the campaign – it is all about doing further research on the pros and cons of synthetic before deciding on a knee-jerk reaction.

“Clifton Park synthetic has become a valuable shared facility due to both wet weather and past droughts. This year our club’s ability to cater for the growing demand of natural playing fields has been tested, compounded by the poor maintenance and repair of our three natural turf fields at Balfe, Sumner and Ryder Parks,” they said.

“It has been claimed that the $650,000 for the upgrade could instead be used to demolish the Clifton Park synthetic and replace it with a natural turf. The claim is that this new pitch would have between 40 and 60 hours of carrying capacity – currently our grounds are considered to have a carrying capacity of 20 to 25 hours per week.

“As a Club we would like this claim tested on an upgraded existing football field, not used as an excuse to demolish the synthetic.”

Pascoe Vale and Brunswick Zebras are just two of a multitude of clubs set to come together on Wednesday night.

They encourage anyone who opposes the synthetic pitch removal to head down to Clifton Park for a BBQ from 6pm, with the meeting a sign of solidarity for an important cause.

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What does the Football Victoria’s Annual Report mean for Victorian Football?

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Image Credit: Football Victoria

Football Victoria has released its 2025 Annual Report and held its Annual General Meeting at the Home of the Matildas at La Trobe University, presenting a picture of a governing body managing rapid growth while laying the administrative foundations it says will be required to sustain it.

Total participation across all formats reached 96,095 in 2025, a 14 percent overall increase, with women and girls players across outdoor, futsal and social formats reaching 30,928. MiniRoos participation climbed to 39,827, volunteer numbers grew 7.4 percent and female volunteer participation increased 40 percent. Across community competitions, 47,481 fixtures were delivered across 5,016 team entries.

The numbers reflect the sustained momentum of women’s football in particular, a growth curve that has accelerated sharply since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and continued through the AFC Women’s Asian Cup held in Australia earlier this year. Football Victoria’s report documents that trajectory in participation data but also in the decisions being made about governance, infrastructure and who is shaping the sport’s direction.

Who is shaping the game

The AGM saw the re-election of Elenna Niteros to the Football Victoria board, having first been elected at the 2024 AGM. Niteros, a long-time player and volunteer, is described by the organisation as dedicated to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion and the growth of women’s football are central to board decisions. The election also returned Peter Filopoulos, an experienced football executive with more than two decades across club, state, national and international organisations. Steve Forbes was subsequently appointed as a director to continue overseeing the organisation’s digital and systems priorities.

The composition of the board matters in ways that extend beyond individual appointments. Football Victoria operates under a 40:40:20 constitutional requirement for gender balance, and the report documents that 94 percent of clubs met that criterion in 2025. That figure, alongside the 100 percent of clubs meeting diversity and inclusion criteria, represents the most structurally significant governance data in the report. The decisions that shape who gets to play, where facilities are built, how budgets are allocated and which programs receive investment are made by the people in those rooms.

Chair Dr Angela Williams, in her first full year in the role, acknowledged the broader environment in which the sport is operating, noting that 2025 had not been easy for everyone and naming violence motivated by race, religion, gender and politics as unacceptable. Her statement that football would play its role in providing peace, belonging and kindness was framed not as aspiration but as responsibility.

Life membership and legacy

The evening included the formal welcome of Life Members from regional associations transitioning into Football Victoria’s statewide structure, alongside the announcement of two new Life Members: Eugene Brazzale, a legendary referee and mentor, and Maggie Koumi, recognised as a trailblazing female administrator.

The In Memoriam section of the annual report carries its own weight. Betty Hoar and Maria Berry AM, both described as foundational pioneers of the women’s game, were among five Life Members farewelled in 2025. Berry’s four-decade legacy included advocacy that tore down systemic barriers for women in sport. Hoar was an inaugural Hall of Fame inductee. The document also recorded the tragic passing of Heidelberg United NPLW striker Keely Lockhart, described by her club as a legend and an angel, known for her kindness toward younger players and her impact on the women’s game in Victoria.

Infrastructure and the years ahead

CEO Dan Birrell framed the year as one defined by progress, describing growth not as a statistic but as a signal that football matters to more people than ever and that communities believe in what is being built. The language is carefully chosen. Progress implies direction, and Football Victoria’s advocacy for infrastructure investment is the clearest indication of where that direction leads.

The Level the Playing Field campaign and the Parliamentary Friends of Football group both received mention in the CEO’s report as central to the organisation’s relationship with government. The recent Victorian State Budget delivered $750,000 to Avondale FC and Hume City FC for facility upgrades, and Football Victoria has indicated further budget announcements are forthcoming. The connection between booming participation and facility access, as Birrell noted, remains central to the organisation’s work with government and partners.

The practical implications of that work are not abstract. Facilities without adequate lighting cannot host evening training. Grounds without gender-inclusive changerooms communicate, without saying a word, who the sport was built for. The $343 million grassroots infrastructure fund Football Australia and Football NSW have sought from the NSW Government reflects the scale of the problem nationally. Victoria faces the same challenge, and the governing body’s political advocacy exists precisely because participation growth without infrastructure investment produces a sport that is larger but not meaningfully better.

With 96,000 participants and a board mandated to reflect the diversity of the community it serves, Football Victoria is in a stronger position than it has been. Whether the infrastructure and investment follow is the question the next decade will answer.

Football West’s Female Football Week draws record engagement from Metropolitan Perth to Remote Kunurra

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Image Credit: Football West

Football West has wrapped up its 2026 Female Football Week with activations spanning metropolitan Perth, regional Western Australia and national online platforms, as participation data from the state’s most remote football association underlined the scale of demand for women’s and girls’ football beyond the city.

Kununurra Soccer Association, situated in the East Kimberley more than 3,000 kilometres from Perth, recorded 47 new female registrations aged 7 to 12 across the first two terms of 2026 through Football West’s Junior Girls United program, representing a 30 percent increase in female membership that coaches Hannah Grominsky and Evie Marchetti described as overwhelming.

“The support from the community has been simply awesome,” Grominsky said. “We’re up to nearly 50 registered girls now. The majority of them have never played before or aren’t part of our association, so it’s great to give them a positive football experience in a comfortable environment.”

The program, supported by the Federal Government’s Play Our Way grant, now runs every Wednesday and has extended football activity into the cooler months of the Kimberley calendar, a season when the association would not traditionally operate. The result is a cohort of players new to the game, in a region where access to organised sport has historically been constrained by geography, infrastructure and seasonality.

Recognition across the state

Back in Perth, Female Football Week’s centrepiece event was the Women in Football Celebrate You Breakfast at the Sam Kerr Football Centre, featuring two panel discussions covering officiating pathways, coaching development and advocacy for women in football.

Subiaco AFC NPL Women’s head coach Christine Coppin, who is one of few women coaching at her level in the region, said events like the breakfast were critical to making the pathway visible for others.

“I’d love to see more women coaches putting their hat in the ring, both at junior and senior levels, realising that there’s more to football than just playing,” Coppin said. “They can stay involved in the sport as they get older in different ways.”

A regional Women in Football Breakfast in Albany drew more than 30 attendees, while a Girls Day Out event in the same city attracted more than 50 participants aged 6 to 16 for a come-and-try introduction to the game, extending the week’s reach into the Great Southern and reinforcing Football West’s stated commitment to building women’s football outside metropolitan areas.

Recognising those who make it happen

The week’s awards, nominated by the WA public, recognised five individuals whose contributions to female football across the state were judged most significant over the past year. Cassandra Paxman of Albany Rovers FC was named Coach of the Year, Georgia Whitelaw of Great Southern JSA and Albany JSA took Referee of the Year, Karen Harris of Carramar Shamrock Rovers FC was named Volunteer of the Year, Georgia Aiesi of Mandurah City FC received the Player of the Year award, and Melissa Spillman of Football Futures Foundations was named Community Champion of the Year— a recognition she also received at the national level.

Football West Female Football and Advocacy Manager Sarah Carroll said the week had reinforced both the momentum and the responsibility facing the sport.

“Female Football Week continues to showcase the incredible passion and growing appetite for the women’s game,” Carroll said. “It’s a reminder of how important it is that we keep working together to drive the game forward.”

The contrast between a packed breakfast at the Sam Kerr Football Centre and a Wednesday afternoon program in Kununurra working around wet season schedules captures something essential about where women’s football in Western Australia actually lives. The growth is real, and it is happening in places the cameras do not always reach.

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