Football Australia’s #EQUALISER campaign is already bearing fruit ahead of Women’s World Cup

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July 20 next year will mark the opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at Auckland’s Eden Park. Moreover, it will signify the beginning of a historic footballing tournament held by two nations yet to fully realise their potential with the sport on and off the pitch.

The development of facilities and infrastructure that serve to suffice the ever-growing population base and football participation rates within Australia (and New Zealand) is one thing. But to construct amenities with one eye on contributing to a progressive and inclusive Australia that encourages greater overall growth is an entirely separate concern that deserves to be prioritised.

The year leading into the Women’s World Cup will undoubtedly serve as a pivotal stretch in the collective Australian sporting psyche, and capitalising effectively on such an influential period is what Football Australia has endeavoured to do with the launch of its #EQUALISER campaign.

#EQUALISER is an initiative supporting the ‘Community Facilities’ Pillar of its Legacy 23’ Plan, with the sole purpose of delivering adequate female-friendly facilities across the country.

In a time where significant attention is being paid to the necessity of equal pay between men’s and women’s national teams – with the Socceroos and Matildas achieving an equal pay deal in 2019 and the US national teams following suit just last month – the spotlight on women’s football is bigger than it’s ever been.  And subsequently, the need to sustainably nurture and foster female football participants presents itself accordingly as being crucial to the growth of the women’s game, something which can be achieved through investment into facilities and infrastructure.

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As an Australian football fan, it can be mystifying to see various strategies and prospective plans announced with the intention of leading football to greater heights come and go, which often leaves us pondering how and when they are going to come to fruition. Perhaps it is due to the seemingly ever diminishing state of Australian football media coverage that these plans don’t receive the attention they deserve; the reality is however that these strategies take time to implement and to see the fruits of their labour.

Pertinently though, Football Australia’s #EQUALISER campaign has already proven to be a success.

Having conducted a survey which received more than 6,000 individual responses, Football Australia revealed in their announcement of their #EQUALISER campaign that as little as 8% of respondents believe football actually receives a fair-share of government funding, compared to other sports.

In addition, a new Football Australia report has revealed that only 35% of football facilities across Australia are currently categorised as being female-friendly or gender-neutral.

In the recent Federal Budget, the Government emphasised the importance of maximising the social, economic and sporting outcomes of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 – the single largest women’s sporting event in the world with an estimated one billion viewers set to tune in – and the unique opportunity it presents to influence substantial legacy initiatives.

Furthermore, the Australian Federal Government has announced an investment of $3.1 million over two years to encourage greater participation of women and girls in football, to expand the MiniRoos for Girls Program (for girls aged 6-12 years) and the Girls 12+ Football Your Way Engagement Experience Program.

The funding forms part of Football Australia’s ambitious Legacy ’23 plan to deliver enduring benefits as a result of co-hosting the Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, including gender parity by 2027, which would see an additional 400,000 female participants.

Football facilities

Early steps are already being taken, with Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) set to welcome nine promised infrastructure upgrades from the Labor Government following the party’s win at the Federal election.

Namely, Dudley United Senior FC is set to receive $320,000 for gender neutral amenities upgrade, disability access and toilets, whilst Garden Suburbs FC will see $400,000 put towards female friendly changerooms. These commitments are a direct result of NNSWF’s strategy to lobby Federal MPs as part of its key strategic priority of Places to Play, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Legacy plan.

Within Football NSW, the sport will receive a $10 million boost from the NSW Government as a legacy of hosting matches in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Separate to this, Ryadalmere Lions FC have received $3 million for improved facilities and new female changing rooms.

In addition, the NSW Football Legacy Program will support football at all levels through the construction of new community facilities, participation initiatives, high performance, leadership and development programs as well as tourism and international engagement. With Football NSW also recently celebrating their biggest Female Football Week yet, it’s evident that the buy-in is there from aspiring female footballers.

To adequately build on hosting what is set to be the biggest-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup, Football Australia must continue to deliver on their word and on the projected plans of the #EQUALISER campaign.

Football NSW

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Tasmania’s State Budget Commits $350,000 to Football Facility Planning as $80 million Home of Football Moves Closer to Reality

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Image Credit: Football Tasmania

The Tasmanian State Government has committed $350,000 in seed funding for the next stage of planning for Football Tasmania‘s proposed Home of Football, moving the state’s most significant football infrastructure project closer to construction and signalling political recognition that demand for rectangular facilities in Tasmania has outgrown what currently exists.

The funding, confirmed in the 2026-27 State Budget handed down last week, sits within an almost $200 million investment in sport and recreation across the budget and forward estimates: a package the government describes as designed to improve access and participation for Tasmanians of all ages. The football allocation is listed alongside a $25 million community sporting infrastructure commitment at Kingborough, $12.5 million for new multipurpose indoor sporting courts at New Town Bay, and $8 million for the Domain Tennis Centre redevelopment.

Football Tasmania CEO Tony Pignata OAM welcomed the commitment as an acknowledgement of the structural gap between participation numbers and available infrastructure, particularly in the state’s south.

“The State Government’s delivery on this commitment shows us that they understand that demand outstrips supply for rectangular facilities in the state,” Pignata said. “If we are to continue to grow and develop future Matildas and Socceroos, we need to invest in the infrastructure our game so desperately needs.”

The proposed $80 million facility would include six full-sized pitches, three synthetic and three turf, alongside four five-a-side pitches, modern changerooms for both men and women, and dedicated training facilities. The design is intended to serve every level of the game simultaneously, from grassroots junior competitions through to national-level tournaments.

From grassroots to A-League ambitions

Football Tasmania has framed the facility’s purpose across a deliberately wide range of uses. At the community end, it would provide a permanent home for junior games and regional tournaments that currently compete for limited rectangular ground availability across the state. At the elite end, it would create the capacity to host national competitions including the Emerging Matildas and Emerging Socceroos Championships, flagship state competitions such as the Statewide Cup finals, and potentially, in time, an A-League team.

That last ambition is the most significant and the most distant. Pignata was measured but direct in raising it, situating a Tasmanian A-League club alongside the NBL’s Jackjumpers, the WNBL’s Jewels and the AFL’s Devils as part of the state’s emerging identity as a home for national sporting competition.

“One day down the track, we anticipate this would become home to our very own A-League team, so that we take our rightful place in the nation’s elite competition,” he said.

The pathway from planning funding to A-League admission is long and would require sustained political and commercial support well beyond the current commitment. But the logic is consistent with how football infrastructure investment has worked elsewhere in Australia. The facility comes first, and the competitive pathway follows. Without a purpose-built ground that meets the standards required for elite competition, the conversation about an A-League team cannot begin in earnest.

The equity dimension

The inclusion of modern women’s and men’s changerooms in the facility’s design carries more weight than it might appear. Community and semi-professional football facilities across Australia have historically been built to male standards, with women’s changerooms added as afterthoughts or not included at all. That inadequacy has been consistently identified as a barrier to female participation and to the hosting of women’s competitions at venues that cannot accommodate them properly.

A purpose-built facility that treats women’s infrastructure as a design requirement rather than a retrofit positions the Home of Football to serve the growth of women’s football in Tasmania in a way that existing facilities cannot. The state recorded 41,395 registered football participants in 2025, a number that has been growing and that the current rectangular facility stock was not built to support at this scale.

Additionally, the government’s Ticket to Play program, which provides eligible children with two vouchers worth up to $100 each for sporting participation, and the Ticket to Wellbeing program offering $100 vouchers to eligible seniors, represent indirect but meaningful support for football participation across the state’s communities.

Pignata also acknowledged outgoing Football Tasmania President Bob Gordon, who he said had dedicated almost a decade to the organisation and had been instrumental in lobbying for this and other facilities across the state.

The $350,000 planning commitment is a beginning. The $80 million facility it is intended to progress remains subject to further government investment and development approval.

Community Spirit Shines on AFC Grassroots Football Day 2026

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Image credit: Football Australia

This week, Football Australia (FA) celebrated AFC Grassroots Football Day 2026, championing the people and communities who continue to hold up a safe, inclusive and supportive environment in the football landscape.

‘For all, for life’

In collaboration with Football NSW, Canterbury Football Association and community club, Balmain & District Football Club, the day reflected the very best of what football provides.

The event brought in participants of all ages – from 4-74 years-old – and reached a total of 400 people. Girls-only programs, all-abilities sessions and over-age football ensured all were catered for.

Such a diverse range of participants builds on a wider drive during FIFA World Football Week, which seeks to promote the sport not just as the dazzling lights of 100,000-seater stadiums, but as a way to foster community spirit and social development.

Furthermore, FA support through its Club Changer program was a welcome addition to the action, emphasising the organisation’s commitment to nurture a real love for the game across communities in Australia.

“Through Club Changer we support our clubs to provide a safe, fun and enjoyable environment where everyone is welcome; whether that be as a player, volunteer, referee or supporter,” explained National Program Manager Club Development at FA, Grace Lambourne.

“Everyone should feel they belong and are welcome to play, stay, and love the game.”

 

A welcome celebration

While the upcoming FIFA World Cup will no doubt inspire millions of future Socceroos and Matildas, events like the AFC Grassroots Football Day represent something beyond just inspiration.

It is a platform. An opportunity to express a love for football and to connect with others while doing so.

And connections between the professional and grassroots game is more important than ever if Australia is to nurture the next generation of talent.

This is particularly clear in the rise of women’s football across the nation. Since the FIFA Women’s World Cup, female participation rose by 32%, and registrations for the MiniTillies Program skyrocketed from 264 in 2023, to 1223 in 2024.

The professionals spark passion. But communities turn that passion into playing time.

That is why celebrating grassroots football – and the volunteers and families who sustain it – is a vital part of Australia’s football future. Together, FA and the AFC are creating strong foundations built on positivity, engagement, and inclusivity for all with a love for the beautiful game.

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