Peter Filopoulos: $4.9 million State Government grant a major win for football

Football Victoria has announced that the Victorian Government will deliver more than $4.9 million in grants to 13 different projects as part of the World Game Facilities Fund.

The World Game Facilities Fund was launched in 2018 with the aim to help drive financial investment into grassroots and community football facilities. Since its inception, it has already contributed more than $9.9 million among 38 infrastructure projects.

Football Victoria CEO Peter Filopoulos was delighted with the State Government’s commitment to developing facilities, calling it a “major win for football”.

“This significant funding will immediately go towards the biggest problem we have in football – our lack of proper facilities to cater for the thousands of Victorians who want to play our sport,” he said.

“The Andrews Government has listened to the football community. They’ve shown a commitment that has turned into real action, the kind of which is going to deliver real outcomes for the people who participate in our sport.”

Kimon Taliadoros, Chairman of Football Victoria, echoed Filopoulos’ message and hailed the news as a great result for anybody involved in football across the state.

“When it comes to facility investment, our clubs have been crying out to us from day one and we promised to work with the Victorian Government to deliver the outcomes our sport needs. That’s what the World Game Facilities Fund is all about,” Taliadoros said.

“We are a long way from the finish line, but the commitments made are giving us a real chance of securing the extra 420 Full-Size Equivalent pitches we need by 2026 to meet the demands of the football community.”

This phase of the fund will provide grants of up to $500,000 to councils and alpine resort boards to improve facilities including lighting, turf pitch redevelopments, synthetic pitches, and female-friendly change rooms.

Among the projects backed by the 2019-20 round of the fund, $500,000 will go towards a new pavilion and pitch lighting at Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve. Once complete, the pavilion will feature female friendly change rooms, a referee room, canteen, accessible toilet and first aid and storage rooms. Along with the installation of 100-lux lighting, the Wonthaggi United Soccer Club will have a new home ground advantage for its growing number of junior and female members.

Other allocations include $400,000 towards a new pavilion at the home of the Hume Spears Sports Club at Seth Raistrick Recreation Reserve in Campbellfield, and more than $185,000 towards new lighting at McIvor Reserve in Yarraville.

Victorian Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence said the funding was about giving the sport the backing it deserved.

“We’re on the hunt for the next Sam Kerr or Tim Cahill and we’re all inspired by what our Matildas have achieved already. This funding will give grassroots football the support it deserves,” Spence said.

“We’re making sure that women and men, and girls and boys, of all abilities have the facilities they need to play the sports they love.”

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Female Football Week kicks off across Northern NSW

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Female Football Week has officially begun across Northern NSW, with a program of gala days, networking events and awards ceremonies running until Sunday May 17, marking a ten-day celebration that organisers say reflects both the growth of women’s football in the region and the work still required to sustain it.

The national initiative, now a fixture on the football calendar, provides a dedicated period of visibility for female participants across all levels of the game from players, coaches, referees to volunteers, whose contributions have historically received less recognition than their male counterparts.

NNSWF Participation and Women’s Football Officer Serena Carter said the week offered something for everyone connected to women’s football in the region.

“Female Football Week provides a fantastic chance to highlight the dedication and skill of female players, coaches, referees and volunteers across the northern NSW community,” Carter said. “There’s something for everyone to enjoy, from grassroots participants to elite competitors.”

Women’s football in northern NSW spans remote and regional communities where clubs operate on limited resources, alongside more established metropolitan programs with clearer development pathways. Female Football Week creates a moment of shared recognition across that spectrum and acknowledges the role volunteers play, from running the canteen to progressing through the pathway.

Northern NSW Football has recorded some of its strongest participation numbers in women’s and girls’ football in recent seasons, a trend that has placed increasing pressure on clubs and facilities to keep pace. The week’s events offer clubs an opportunity to showcase their commitment to diversity and inclusion at a time when that commitment is being tested by growth.

Football NNSW Releases Infrastructure Strategies as Participation Growth Outpaces Facilities

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Northern NSW Football has unveiled bespoke infrastructure strategies for each of its seven member zones, providing an evidence-based roadmap for facility investment across the region as continued participation growth exposes critical gaps in the sporting infrastructure available to support it.

The Member Zone Infrastructure Strategies draw on data across participation rates, population growth and existing facility conditions to map what each zone has, what it needs and where investment will have the greatest impact. Identified gaps include drainage, lighting and inclusive changerooms – the foundational infrastructure that determines whether facilities are functional, safe and accessible year-round.

NNSWF Government Relations Manager Gary Fisher said the strategies represented a significant step toward smarter, more targeted investment across the region.

“By bringing together key data on participation, population growth and existing infrastructure, these strategies give us a stronger understanding of where the needs are greatest and where investment will have the most impact,” Fisher said. “Ultimately we want to create more inclusive and accessible environments for everyone involved in the game while building stronger, more sustainable clubs and communities for the future.”

Northern NSW Football has previously noted that participation across the region is at record levels and still rising, with women’s and girls’ football a significant driver of that growth. Infrastructure that was built for a smaller and less diverse participation base is increasingly unable to meet current demand, let alone accommodate future growth.

The strategies are also designed to strengthen NNSWF’s alignment with government funding priorities, providing the evidence base needed to support grant applications and long-term facility planning across all seven zones.

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