Fowler and Paulsen win 2024 PFA Young Footballer Awards

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Image credit: PFA website

Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) have confirmed Matildas star Mary Fowler and New Zealand goalkeeper Alex Paulsen have been named the 2024 Austraffic PFA Young Footballers of the Year, as voted by their peers.

The pair were recognised by PFA members as standout performers from a competitive shortlist that included Kyra Cooney-Cross, Charlotte Grant, Kaitlyn Torpey, Nestory Irankunda, Jordan Bos, and Alessandro Circati.

This marks Fowler’s second time winning the award, while Paulsen becomes the third New Zealand international to claim the honour, following Marco Rojas and Liberato Cacace.

The award recognises the performances of players in the A-Leagues and Australian players abroad between June 2023 and June 2024, for those under 23 at the time.

Austraffic PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year: Mary Fowler

Fowler had an impressive season in the English Women’s Super League, scoring four goals and providing six assists as she helped Manchester City to a second-place finish, just behind champions Chelsea on goal difference.

Internationally, the 21-year-old shone for the Matildas, playing in six of their seven matches at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and playing a key role in the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she scored four goals in five Olympic qualifying matches.

Having previously won the award in 2022, Fowler joins Alex Chidiac (2017, 2018) and Ellie Carpenter (2020, 2021) as a two-time winner of the PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year.

Mary Fowler spoke on the award win and how much it means for her to be recognised by the PFA.

“It means a lot to me,” Fowler said.

“I think it’s one of the best awards I can receive because getting something from the players I play alongside, and play against, it means a lot to me to see that they think I’m doing well and give me that kind of recognition. I just feel super grateful for that.”

Austraffic PFA Young Men’s Footballer of the Year (PFA Harry Kewell Medal): Alex Paulsen

Alex Paulsen has been awarded the prestigious PFA Harry Kewell Medal following an impressive breakout season with Wellington Phoenix in the A-League Men.

The 22-year-old cemented his position as Wellington’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 2023-24 pre-season and went on to play a key role in helping Giancarlo Italiano’s team secure a spot in the finals with a series of outstanding performances between the posts.

Paulsen’s stellar form earned him multiple accolades, including A-League Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year and the Fan Player of the Year award. He also shared the A-League Men’s Young Footballer of the Year title with Nestory Irankunda.

His impact throughout the season saw him selected for the 2023-24 PFA A-League Men Team of the Season, where he was named captain after receiving the highest number of votes from his peers.

Alex Paulsen spoke highly on his award win.

“I’m proud to receive such a prestigious award,” Paulsen said.

“Only two Kiwis have won this award (previously) so to be up in that bracket is amazing and I’m really proud of receiving such an accolade.

“It means more to be voted by my peers and my teammates. I feel very honoured to receive this award. Twelve months ago, I wasn’t really – with regards to Wellington Phoenix – in the picture to be considered the No.1, and to be given an opportunity by ‘Chiefy’ (Italiano) to be involved with the Wellington Phoenix and to be the No.1 was fantastic.”

At the conclusion of the terrific 2023/24 campaign, Paulsen signed with English Premier League club Bournemouth but returned to the A-League Men on loan to join new expansion team Auckland FC, the city where he was born and raised.

Paulsen becomes the third New Zealand player to win the Young Men’s Footballer of the Year, following Marco Rojas (2013) and Liberato Cacace (2020). He is also the third goalkeeper to receive the honour, joining Socceroos Mat Ryan (2012, 2014, 2015) and Mitch Langerak (2010).

Austraffic have been the sponsor for the PFA’s Footballer of the Year Awards since 2009 and the traffic engineering and information technology specialists have been in business since 1983 undertaking thousands of traffic, transport and pedestrian studies in all states and territories of Australia and New Zealand.

The PFA will confirm the 2024 Austraffic Men’s and Women’s Footballers of the Year next week.

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Western Strikers Nominated FSA Club of the Month for Equity Outcomes

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Image Credit: Football SA

Western Strikers SC has been nominated for Club of the Month after a period of deliberate structural investment in its female program that is already producing measurable outcomes, and offering a model for how community clubs can drive participation growth through equity-focused planning rather than passive goodwill.

The nomination recognises a program that has moved beyond surface-level commitment to women’s football and into the kind of structural change that determines whether female players actually stay. Improved lighting across training and match pitches, equitable scheduling, extended training hours and dedicated pitch allocation have addressed the practical barriers that clubs often overlook. It’s conditions that tell players, implicitly or otherwise, whether the game was built for them.

 

Leadership as Infrastructure

Central to Western Strikers’ approach is a leadership structure that takes female football seriously as a technical and administrative priority. Women’s Coordinator Michelle Loprete and Technical Director Georgia Iannella, a former Matilda, provide the program with both organisational direction and the kind of visible role modelling that shapes whether younger players can picture themselves progressing through the game.

The presence of a former international player in a technical leadership role at a community level isn’t incidental. It signals to junior players that the pathway from their Friday night training session to elite football is real and navigable, and it gives the club’s coaching staff access to experience and credibility that most community programs cannot offer.

That pipeline is already functioning. Western Strikers’ Under-13 to Under-16 girls teams all qualified for finals in the Youth Premier League this season. Under-15 goalkeeper Sian Schopfer made her debut in the Women’s State League team which is a direct product of a club environment designed to move players upward.

 

The Friday-night model

One of the more quietly significant initiatives at Western Strikers is the scheduling of Friday night women’s matches, with junior girls training beforehand encouraged to stay and watch senior football. The structure is straightforward but its implications are meaningful. Aspiration in sport is not abstract. It’s built through proximity, through watching players a few years older doing what you want to do, in the same kit, at the same club.

The absence of that experience is one of the more consistent reasons girls disengage from football in their mid-teens. When junior female players cannot see where the game goes after their age group, the logical conclusion is that it goes nowhere. Western Strikers’ scheduling decision addresses that directly, at minimal cost, and whose effects are starting to manifest.

 

The Club Changer framework

The club’s participation in Football South Australia’s Club Changer Program has provided a structured framework for identifying and addressing barriers that might otherwise go unexamined. Pitch allocation, training structures and safety conditions are the kinds of issues that accumulate quietly in club environments; not because of deliberate exclusion but because the default systems were built around male participation and have never been comprehensively reviewed.

The Club Changer Program creates accountability for that review. Western Strikers’ ability to project an additional 146 female players over the next three years is a product of planning rather than optimism.

 

Industry implications

Western Strikers’ model matters beyond its own membership. At a time when women’s football in Australia is navigating the challenge of converting a participation surge into sustainable long-term growth, the question of what community clubs actually do with increased interest is among the most consequential in the sport.

Record crowds at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and sustained national visibility have opened the door. Whether players walk through it and stay depends on whether the club on the other side looks anything like Western Strikers

Melbourne City expand youth program with Hallam Secondary College

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Image credit: Melbourne City FC

The school will join the City Futures Program in its mission to consolidate pathways and community bonds for students.

From pupils to players

Hallam is the latest school in Melbourne’s South-East to join the City Futures Program. Also backing the program’s ambitions are Narre Warren South P-12 College, Gleneagles Secondary College and Timbarra P-9 School.

Partnerships between professional clubs like Melbourne City and local schools help to promote community connection, as well as providing pathways from the classroom to the stadium.

“City Futures is about creating genuine opportunities for young people to stay engaged in their education while feeling connected to something bigger,” said Head of Community, Sunil Melon, via press release.

“By bringing the Club into schools and providing access to our environment, we’re helping students build confidence, explore future pathways and see what’s possible both within football and beyond.”

Gone are the days when young players must choose between football and education. Through the City Futures Program, they can enjoy both worlds and still have the opportunities to develop.

 

What City Futures provides

Hallam sudents will be at the centre of the benefits provided by the connection to Melbourne City.

For example, high-quality coaching sessions delivered twice a week will instill confidence and teamwork skills into young participants. And as Melbourne City coaches are set to deliver the sessions, the students will truly learn from the best in Australia’s footbal landscape.

Furthermore, participants can visit Casey Fields, home to the City Football Academy, where they can experience the ins and outs of how an A-League club operates and trains.

“We’re proud to be part of the City Futures Program,” outlined Acting Principal at Hallam Secondary College, Shelly Haughey.

“Seeing our students come together and commit to their training is setting them up for success both on and off the pitch, and we look forward to building a strong and lasting partnership with Melbourne City FC.”

 

The future of football pathways

This isn’t the first – nor will it be the last – partnership to connect football and education in Australia.

Earlier this year, Queensland-based John Paul College embarked on an exciting journey with Spanish outfit, RCD Espanyol, to provide unique coaching support, player education, and pathway opportunities.

But these partnerships aren’t merely about giving young talents a place in the starting XI.

They are designed to ensure all participants develop into confident young people – whether their future lies on the pitch, in the dugout or in the boardroom.

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