Football Victoria President Antonella Care: “It’s been terrific to broadcast on a dedicated platform”

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2022 has seen football’s consistent return across Victoria, in a greatly changed environment following two seasons largely ruined by Covid-19. Nearing the end of the NPL Victoria Men’s and Women’s competitions, Football Victoria President Antonella Care spoke with Soccerscene on the health of her organisation, and the state of the game moving forward.

We’re over 12 months into your tenure as Football Victoria’s President, a period which has been largely defined by football’s return post-Covid-19. In addition to this, what do you consider the strongest success of the organisation during this time?

Antonella Care: Prudential financial planning and management through the Covid period and two cancelled seasons was really critical. I’m really proud of the strong commitment and support we gave our clubs during that period, and the fact participation in 2022 is almost at pre-pandemic levels is good evidence of that. Robust governance has been something that I’m equally proud of and think is a good success of the organisation.

We’ve also developed a greater awareness and sharper focus on gender equity, and as the first female president of Football Victoria, it’s a badge of honour that I wear. Under my stewardship I’m able to bring a greater focus to that, noting that our 50-50 focus has been adopted by Football Australia, so it’s now a national objective.

The home of the Matildas will serve as a built institution and legacy for football in Victoria. It’s really important that we’ll receive the greatest funding attributed to the round ball in this country. It will lead to a strong focus on female participation, and ensure that we as a board, especially post-Covid, have a strong focus on grassroots, and support our clubs to recover with prosperity for football.

Could you please expand on robust governance?

Antonella Care: Without speaking out of turn, I think football in Australia has historically been the recipient of people who have influenced the game, over and above what is best for it. When I say strong governance, we have implemented a governance review of football, and we’re in the throes of determining the best strategy of putting that forward. We’ve had a really good look at the standing committees and communications, and there is some interesting information that has come out of those reviews that will start to take effect into 2023.

I think, too, with the constitutional review that’s taken place, and the committee that’s been leading the charge on that, we have a good cross section of advice and information that will inform the constitutional reform changes that will hopefully, again, be showcased later on this year. All these things are leading to a stronger ecosystem, leading to decisions that are made on balance and not influence.

We’re nearing the end of the return seasons of both the NPL Victoria Men’s & Women’s campaigns. Do you feel the return has been successful? Other than participation numbers, are there any other means you’ve used to quantify this?

Antonella Care: It’s been hard, but there’s no doubt interest in our top tiers is strong, and certainly the streaming numbers have shown that. Victoria has been one of the greatest recipients of the NPL.TV platform in particular, with over six million minutes of football consumed. Our stakeholders have been extremely willing and well positioned on the back of Covid, so I think that’s had a significant impact on our success as well. Victoria has had to pivot far greater than everybody else and our resilience has shown that, so they’re probably the key things.

In hindsight, is there anything you feel you could have carried out differently in returning from the pandemic?

Antonella Care: The position Victoria was in as a closed state for such a lengthy period was something we will hopefully never see again. We probably could have communicated more frequently [when resuming post-Covid] – I think everybody spent so much time trying to see what we could do to reinstate football and get people back on the park, and we had to pivot so many times through those challenges because the numbers, rules and protocols were constantly changing.

If I had my time over again, our focus would have been greater communication, and a lot more discussion around resilience and mental wellbeing. These are the things our game doesn’t always do well; I would put some more emphasis around that.

We did introduce some really good opportunities and collectives in getting our community together. Like everybody else, the transition into Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other platforms got better as the pandemic got longer.

What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing football in Victoria, and the game in Australia more broadly?

Antonella Care: Covid-19 continues to present the single biggest challenge to our sport both locally and nationally, and the compliance and continued requirements for social distancing is still having an impact. Everything from return to play protocols to financial pressures have changed the way people engage in organised sport, potentially forever, and I predict those financial impacts will continue. That comes from people who lost their jobs or were stood down over the period, to the way we now spend our money differently, and it’s also impacted who chooses to play organised sport. 

The other obvious thing is the added challenge of attracting volunteers. Like all sports, we’ve had a significant loss to our volunteer base; whether people who are older are now more afraid, or who through their own requirements after a two year hiatus have decided to just go and watch rather than actually volunteer. It’s a hard job, and they’re what make or break our game day experiences.

We’ve also lost a lot of referees, and I don’t think that’s a big secret to anybody – that’s been challenging. Finally, ongoing education; we’ve lost and forgotten how to be respectful of each other, and of the people helping us through game day experiences.

Returning to your partnership with Cluch.TV to provide NPL.TV – in your opinion this has been a success, nearing the end of your first season with them?

Antonella Care: It’s been terrific to broadcast matches on a dedicated platform. It has the ability to play live matches, integrated highlights, all of that has been thrilling. We’ve welcomed new faces to the commentary team, including some really amazing new female voices. It’s a solid product, it has multiple ways you can access it, and there’s an opportunity to further commercialise it.

One of the major benefits of Cluch.TV is the opportunity for our clubs to feature their partners with 20% of the advertising inventory going back to them, so again it’s a monetary opportunity. That said, obviously nothing beats attending a match in person – you want to soak up the atmosphere and be part of your community. So we see our streams as a supportive product to create exposure for people who aren’t necessarily lovers or frequentors of football; it’s a growth opportunity for new people to come into our fold.

Does Football Victoria have a position on the regulation of private academies? Is there interest in building a membership-based framework that incentivises participation, but also promotes compliance in certain areas across the board?

Antonella Care: Academies reflect what is a strong demand for football, 12 months of the year. We’re always looking for opportunities where we can work with our stakeholders, there is no doubt we need to improve our game. Football Victoria does work with clubs who have dedicated private academies or associations with private academies, and it’s been successful, especially in our junior NPL programs.

I think with some good governance frameworks along with Football Australia, we can continue to have solid and successful relationships with all providers. There is enough there for everybody, and this is really about ‘the game’, it’s not about capitalising on every front. As stated in our strategy, it’s ‘football any time, any where’, and academies provide another opportunity for that.

I think we can work together, and it’s important to have good relationships with our stakeholders. As seen with bringing futsal back into the fold, it’s provided a good governance opportunity. Some of the systems out there are fantastic and don’t need ‘intervention’. For those that perhaps want assistance and guidance we are happy to provide it, but we don’t need to be all things to all people.

Does Football Victoria have a position on the potential development of a national second division? Has there been any consideration towards potential vacuum effects should top clubs ascend out of the current NPL structure?

The continued development and growth of our game is important, in whatever form that takes. I don’t think a second tier will create a vacuum necessarily, I think it will continue to grow our development pathways. Football Victoria remains committed to the successful launch of the second division, and I would say to any clubs who are selected, that we will be more than happy to support them in that process. We have so many strong NPL clubs in our state, that any potential vacuum won’t materially affect any clubs that choose to stay in the NPL system either.

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Northern NSW Football Calls in SAPA as Participation Surge Sparks Big Plans

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Northern NSW Football has commissioned Sports Advisory Partners Australia to lead the development of its 2027 to 2029 Strategic Plan, a process that will shape the direction of one of Australia’s most significant regional football markets at a moment when the game nationally is navigating unprecedented growth and structural complexity.

The engagement, announced this week, will see SAPA conduct extensive consultation across NNSWF’s registered participants, member zones, standing committees, board of directors and executive leadership before delivering a final plan scheduled for release in September. The firm brings to the project a track record that spans Football Australia, the A-Leagues, AFL, Rugby Australia, Golf Australia and the Oceania Football Confederation.

NNSWF CEO Peter Haynes said the organisation intended to be deliberate and ambitious about what the next plan would ask of the sport in the region.

“This plan will do more than that,” Haynes said. “It will play a critical role in shaping the future of football in our region. We are going to be bold, ambitious and take this opportunity to really push our sport forward to reach its potential.”

 

Building on a period of significant growth

NNSWF’s current 2024 to 2026 Strategic Plan has already delivered measurable outcomes across participation, competition strength and community engagement, and has done so against a national backdrop that has made the job of growing football both easier and more demanding simultaneously.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the recent AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia have driven participation surges that are being felt at the regional level as acutely as anywhere. Northern NSW, which covers a vast and diverse geographic footprint from the Hunter Valley to the Queensland border, has seen women’s and girls’ football registrations climb sharply, reflecting a trend Haynes flagged publicly during Football Australia’s recent push for a $343 million NSW grassroots infrastructure fund, in which he noted that participation across the region was at record levels and still rising.

That growth creates a specific strategic challenge. Momentum is relatively easy to generate in the wake of a major tournament. Sustaining it across a three-year planning horizon, through the inevitable post-event cooling of public attention, against ongoing pressure on club volunteers and community facilities, and in competition with other codes for government funding and ground access, requires a more deliberately constructed framework than goodwill alone can provide.

The 2027 to 2029 plan will need to answer questions that the current plan did not have to confront at the same scale: how to absorb participation growth without degrading the quality of the experience for existing players, how to build the referee and coaching pipelines that expanding competitions demand, and how to make the case for infrastructure investment in regional communities where football’s political leverage is real but not unlimited.

 

The Regional Dimension

Regional football in Australia occupies a structurally distinct position within the national game. It sits outside the metropolitan NPL systems that tend to attract most of the administrative attention and commercial investment, and serves communities where football is often the largest club-based sport and where the absence of adequate pathways has historically meant talented players relocating or disengaging entirely.

NNSWF’s decision to invest in a professionally developed strategic plan, rather than producing one internally, signals an awareness that the next phase of growth requires external rigour and benchmarking against what is working elsewhere. SAPA’s familiarity with the organisation, cited by Haynes as a factor in the appointment, also suggests a desire for continuity of thinking rather than a wholesale strategic reset.

SAPA Executive Director Sam Chadwick said the firm was focused on producing something actionable rather than aspirational.

“Our goal is to deliver a clear and actionable strategy that will guide continued growth and long-term success for the game,” Chadwick said. “Northern NSW Football has built a strong platform through its 2024 to 2026 Strategic Plan and we are delighted to support the next phase of its journey.”

Community at its Centre

NNSWF Chairman Mike Parsons emphasised that the process would be driven by community voice rather than imposed from above, a commitment that carries practical as well as symbolic weight in a region where the diversity of football communities, from coastal clubs to inland associations, means that a single strategic framework must accommodate significantly different local realities.

“This will be a strategy for the entire football community and it is vital that we hear from as many voices as possible,” Parsons said. “Through genuine consultation and collaboration we will ensure the next strategic plan reflects the needs and aspirations of our community while positioning our game for continued success.”

Consultation opportunities will roll out across the coming months. The 2027 to 2029 Strategic Plan is scheduled for release in September.

How Football Victoria’s Opens Board Nominations will Address the Game’s Rapid Growth Demands

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Football Victoria has opened nominations for two board director positions ahead of its Annual General Meeting on May 25, with the governing body explicitly seeking candidates with expertise in investment and fundraising, digital innovation, and people and culture to meet the modern challenges facing football administration in Australia’s most populous football state.

Nominations close at 6pm on Monday April 20. All candidates will be assessed by an Independent Nominations Committee against the requirements of FV’s 2024-2028 strategic framework, which is built around five pillars: clubs and competitions, participants, pathways, facilities, and the organisation’s future direction.

The appointments arrive at a moment when football in Victoria, and nationally, is navigating a participation boom that has significantly outpaced the infrastructure, governance and financial frameworks built to support it. The game is growing faster than the systems designed to manage it, and the people who sit at the top of those systems will determine whether that growth becomes sustainable or starts to work against itself.

A Sport at Crossroads

Football is now Australia’s largest club-based sport, and Victoria sits at the centre of that story. Participation numbers have climbed sharply in the years since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and more recently the successful AFC Women’s Asian Cup, with junior registrations in particular placing pressure on community facilities, volunteer workforces and competition structures that were not designed to absorb growth at this pace.

The consequences are visible at ground level. Councils across Victoria, many of which did not anticipate the scale of football’s expansion when planning their sporting infrastructure, are now confronting a facilities gap that is measurable in cancelled training sessions, overloaded grounds and clubs turning away players for want of adequate space. Drainage, lighting, changeroom access and pitch availability, have become pressure points that no amount of elite-level visibility can resolve from above.

The incoming board directors will inherit that problem directly. Football Victoria’s strategic framework names facilities as one of its five core pillars, and the organisation’s ability to make the case to government, councils and private investors for the kind of sustained infrastructure funding the sport requires will depend significantly on the financial and advocacy expertise sitting around its board table.

Football Australia and Football NSW recently called on the NSW Government to establish a $343 million grassroots facilities fund in response to the same structural pressures. Victoria faces an analogous challenge, and the director recruitment process signals that FV is aware its board needs people who can drive investment portfolios and revenue streams, not merely administer existing ones.

The Commercial Dimension

The case for bringing investment expertise onto the board extends beyond facilities. Australian sport sits within a $41.7 billion economy, and football’s share of that landscape is growing in ways that create both opportunity and complexity. Broadcast rights, commercial partnerships, digital platforms, and the expanding role of sports betting in the revenue structures of sporting codes are reshaping how governing bodies at every level think about financial sustainability.

Football Victoria’s competitions, including NPL, state leagues,  and an increasingly significant women’s program, represent a substantial commercial asset that has historically been underleveraged relative to its scale. The appointment of directors with investment and fundraising competencies is a direct acknowledgement that the next phase of the sport’s growth in Victoria will require a more sophisticated financial strategy than the one that got it here.

The digital innovation competency sits alongside that commercial imperative. Football is generating more data, more content and more participant interaction than at any point in its history in Australia, and the governing bodies that build effective digital infrastructure now will be better positioned to manage participation, retain players and engage communities at a scale that was not previously possible.

Governance and Equity

Football Victoria’s nomination process includes a constitutional requirement for 40:40:20 board composition. It translates to 40 percent identifying as women, 40 percent as men, and 20 percent of any gender.

The equity means decisions made at the board-level, about facilities investment, participation pathways, and community engagement have a direct impact on who gets to play, where and under what conditions. A board composition that reflects the diversity of the football community it governs is better placed to identify the structural barriers that data alone does not always surface.

FV CEO, along with the Independent Nominations Committee, will assess candidates against the full range of competencies outlined in the strategic framework, including governance experience, demonstrated involvement in football as a player, coach, referee or administrator, and an understanding of the broader football ecosystem.

The sport is at an inflection point. The foundations have been laid by decades of community building, volunteer labour and grassroots investment. What happens next, whether the participation boom becomes a lasting structural shift or a wave that recedes from insufficient infrastructure to sustain it, will be shaped in no small part by the quality of leadership at the governing body level.

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