Football Queensland’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan to meet National Ambition

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FQ Strategic Plan
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Designed to meet the targets and ambitions of a united, national strategy for the game, Football Queensland has released the 2023-2026 One Football Strategic Plan.

The purpose is to bring communities together through football and represent its vision as a leading football nation where everyone is inspired to live and love the game.

If the targets and ambitions of a united national strategy are to be successful, it is necessary to streamline the governance and administration and integrate critical strategic and operational functions and to support the execution of sport initiatives.

The transformation of moving towards an agile, modern, fit-for-purpose framework for football is in line with the international standards and best practices of sports governance in the country.

Football Queensland has dedicated its time and effort by working closely with Football Australia and other Member Federations to unify the sport behind a common purpose and a shared vision with a One Football pathway.

The Strategic Plan covers Football Australia’s vision detailing topics such as focus areas and measures of success across the four main pillars, providing the state of affairs from a national perspective while at the same time covering in-depth plans for implementation at the state level to delivering strong results for football in Queensland.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, it is of utter importance that the next generation of female participants have a chance to be a part of the world game for which it will involve developing the right pathways, constructing the necessary infrastructure and increasing the support of clubs by delivering the right results in the states across the country.

The governing body of the state is bound to achieve 50/50 gender parity for participants, referees, committees and club officials by 2027. A key component is leaving a lasting legacy for future generations by welcoming the potential for all women and girls across all parts of the game, by giving the opportunity for all.

The four strategic pillars involved in Football Australia’s One Football Plan are Participants and Clubs, Elite Teams and Pathways, Fans and Unifying Football.

The first pillar’s ambition is to be the most accessible sport in the country where everyone can play any time, anywhere, with the focus areas ranging from driving participation retention and growth, especially for women and girls at the national level to evolving Football Queensland’s referee strategy and enhance the referee academy in the state level.

Football Queensland’s key targets are:

  • 328,000 registered participants
  • 9,400 registered coaches
  • 62,000 women and girl participants
  • 3,600 registered referees

The second pillar priority is to reimagine the Australian development for its players by producing world-class teams, players, coaches as well as referees in the country to build capacity in strengthening pathways for improved player results by providing the best technical practice into clubs through an expanded academy of Football Queensland and a coordinated club development program at the state ambitions.

Football Queensland’s key targets are:

  • 20% national representation across all levels
  • 15 Advanced Coaching Courses
  • Home of Football project delivered before 2026
  • 25 advanced female technical directors

National ambitions for the third pillar are to attract and increase an inspired fanbase who adore and devote their time and effort to Australian football properties, the focus areas involve enhancing the passion for the national teams and establishing modern products to drive fan engagement to organising new fan engagements around the current leagues, championships and competition products.

Football Queensland’s key targets are:

  • 15,000-seat capacity tier 2 stadium
  • Convert passive fans to active
  • Celebrating achievements
  • Festivals of Football

Lastly, the aspiration of the fourth pillar is to unite the sport and to recognise the true potential of football not only in the state but in the whole country. By doing this the focus areas will be that administration will be improved in maximising operational efficiencies and governance will need to be enhanced to achieve greater alignment and focus of the national level to improving the football experience, supporting club development and unlocking the achievements of critical strategic objectives.

Football Queensland key targets are:

  • Football first decisions
  • Deliver an agile modern fit-for-purpose framework
  • Reposition resources in administration
  • Increase revenue and efficiencies

Football Queensland has and always will value respect, pride, integrity and unity at all levels of the game.

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More than 220 coaches attend Football South Australia’s second NOVA Youth Club Championship workshop

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Football South Australia drew more than 220 coaches to its second NOVA Youth Club Championship Coaches Workshop in late May, underlining the scale of engagement clubs are generating through the state’s restructured youth competition framework.

The online session was facilitated by Football SA Technical Director Michael Cooper, who also serves as Junior Matildas Head Coach. Cooper shared observations from the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup and Australia’s qualification for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, giving club-level coaches a window into the demands and standards of elite international football.

The presenter line-up extended that international lens further. Lachlan Tosh and Cristiano Dos Santos spoke to their experiences in national tournament environments, while legendary Australian coach Tom Sermanni addressed the fundamentals of youth coaching. Colin Sanctuary from the University of Newcastle examined coaching language and its direct influence on player learning.

Themes running across the session included the primacy of long-term player development over short-term results, with presenters consistently emphasising technique, ball mastery, individual improvement, and decision-making under pressure. Coaches were encouraged to expose players to varied styles of play, facilitate practice outside organised training, and help young players retain possession longer in match conditions.

Post-session feedback pointed to strong practical value, with coaches singling out clear communication, relationship-building, and age-appropriate feedback as key takeaways.

The workshop series sits within the broader transition from the Youth Premier League to the Club Championship model, which ties coaching participation to championship points for clubs and CPD credits toward individual coaching diplomas. Six workshops are scheduled across the season, with four still to come.

1200 players to descend on Geelong for Football Victoria Country Championships as Regional Football Enters New Era

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Image Credit: Football Victoria

More than 1,200 junior footballers from across regional Victoria will converge on Geelong this weekend for the 2026 Football Victoria Country Championships, with players representing eight regions competing across the King’s Birthday long weekend at Stead Park and Myers Reserve.

The tournament, which has been running since 1978 and has grown into one of the largest junior football events in the country, takes on additional significance this year. It marks the first Country Championships since Football Victoria announced a restructured regional football model in December 2025, making this edition an early measure of how that new framework translates into competitive outcomes at the representative level.

Sixty-seven teams will compete across Under-11 to Under-16 age groups for both boys and girls, with finals day scheduled for Monday. All fixtures and results will be available through the DRIBL app.

More than silverware

FV Regional Development Manager Lauren Stevens said the tournament represented something beyond the competitive results it produces.

“The Country Championships are an exciting opportunity for players from across regional Victoria to come together, represent their region and create lasting memories both on and off the pitch,” Stevens said. “This tournament has a rich history and continues to play an important role in bringing regional football communities together while providing players with the chance to experience a high-level representative environment and talent identification opportunity.”

That dual function is central to what makes the Country Championships structurally significant. For many players travelling to Geelong this weekend, a regional representative tournament is the highest level of football they have experienced. For some, it will be the environment in which they first come to the attention of Football Victoria’s technical staff and pathway programs.

The talent identification dimension carries particular weight at a moment when Football Victoria’s participation numbers are at record levels and the pipeline from community football to elite competition has never been more closely scrutinised. The 2025 Annual Report documented a 14 percent overall participation increase, with junior football among the fastest-growing segments. Tournaments like the Country Championships are where that growth begins to translate into representative opportunity for players who live outside metropolitan Melbourne.

Regional football in transition

The timing of this year’s Championships against the backdrop of Football Victoria’s regional restructure adds a layer of context that will be watched closely by administrators and clubs. The December 2025 announcement of the new regional model represented the most significant structural change to regional football governance in the state in some years, and the process of transitioning Life Members from regional associations into the Football Victoria honour roll at last month’s AGM reflected the scale of that change.

How the eight regions perform this weekend will offer an early indication of whether the restructured model is serving regional communities effectively.

The Corrie Koppen Fair Play Award, introduced last year to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Cornelius Koppen, adds a dimension to the competition that sits alongside the on-field results. The award is given to the region judged to have played and conducted itself in the spirit of the game, a recognition that how communities behave at a junior tournament is as meaningful as what they win.

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