FQ Academy drives football growth in Far North & Gulf Region

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Football Queensland (FQ) marked major milestones in youth and junior player development across the Far North and Gulf (FNG) region in 2024, as the FQ Academy continued to establish itself as the leading pathway for developing football talent in the area.

FQ have put a focus on academy over the last 12 months, utilising different programs and partnerships to help springboard off the men’s and women’s international success.

The overall goal is to have Queensland at the forefront of Australian football talent, representing the Socceroos and Matildas in high volume.

Club Development Ambassador – Far North & Gulf (Cairns) Jack Southwell discussed the many reasons why there has been a surge in the region, following FQ’s plans of focusing on academy success.

“Football in the Far North and Gulf is flourishing, with more promising young athletes than ever before gaining access to top tier coaching and competitive opportunities through the FQ Academy, driving a surge in participation and engagement from both players and clubs, and fuelling a growing enthusiasm for the game across the region,” Southwell said in a press release.

“This year, the region has experienced a 350% increase in the number of players involved in the FQ Academy, with over 220 players—both male and female—joining the program. This surge in participation speaks to the increasing recognition of young players in the quality of development provided by the FQ Academy to help them reach their full potential.

“One of the standout achievements of the 2024 season was the selection of 27 local players from the FNG region to represent Queensland at the National Youth Championships, showcasing the FQ Academy pathway’s excellence in elite coaching, specialised development, and competitive opportunities.

“This alignment with national technical standards not only highlights the growing strength of the FQ Academy but also continues to open doors for local talent to reach the highest levels of the game.

“Building on the success of 2024, Football Queensland will continue to strengthen local coaching expertise and enhance player development across the Far North and Gulf region in 2025, creating a sustainable and advanced football ecosystem for players, coaches, and clubs to thrive.”

This comes after FQ confirmed their Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) Youth and Junior programs will partner with Brisbane Roar for 2025.

This is to aid the QAS program into developing more professional players through a strengthened, narrow pathway that utilises the states only professional team.

The recent moves by FQ to focus on their academy structure and progress is proving to be successful and they are strongly committed to creating opportunities for players, coaches, and clubs to reach their potential. Football Queensland looks forward to another successful season in 2025.

FQ will continue to prioritise growth in the Far North and Gulf region and beyond, with the FQ Academy at the forefront of this mission.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

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