Strong Federal Government support welcomed by Football Australia

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Football Australia have welcomed the Federal Government’s pledge to provide $12 million of support to elite women’s football in Australia over the next two years.

The Federal Government announced that it would be providing a grant to Football Australia in support of their High-Performance objectives for the Westfield Matildas, Young Matildas and Junior Matildas which will include:

  • The scheduling of eight additional Westfield Matildas international matches in preparation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
  • Bolstering of crucial High-Performance resources providing additional support for the Westfield Matildas, Young Matildas, and Junior Matildas
  • International tours and domestic camps for existing national youth teams to support the pipeline of talent and competitive depth for the Westfield Matildas with a world class program for the Young and Junior Matildas

The funding ties into Football Australia’s Legacy ’23 plan by supporting Australia’s pipeline of talent and competitive depth with a world class program in the lead in to the home tournament (co-hosted with New Zealand). It will also allow for increased community engagement of Australia’s vast footballing family, including those from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson acknowledged and thanked the Federal Government for their support of Australia’s Women’s High-Performance Programs over the next two years.

“Last year we completed a Women’s Performance Gap Report, which offered an objective lens into the current landscape facing Australia’s most talented female footballers, benchmarking Australia against eleven other leading female football nations,” he said.

“This deep-dive helped to provide us with a strong understanding of where we sit globally, with the overwhelming takeaway that we must collectively do more to provide opportunities to elite, and prospectively elite, female footballers.

“We are thrilled that the Australian Government have listened to our research, and have opted to support the Matildas, women’s football, and football broadly as our senior team gears up to compete on home soil in 2023 – an event that will be the biggest on Australian shores since Sydney 2000.

“This funding will also provide the next generation of talent the opportunity to play and develop against the world’s best, ensuring that they can perform and act locally, nationally, and internationally as role models”.

Senior Westfield Matildas star Sam Kerr welcomed the High-Performance Funding as well, acknowledging its timeliness at a crucial time in the women’s football cycle.

“I think it’s massive. The funding will help us to build the game and have a stronger national team to compete at major international tournaments such as the Olympics, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, and FIFA Women’s World Cup,” she said.

“As we grow stronger, both at youth and senior level, Australians will be inspired to engage with football, get active, and gain a broader awareness of the truly global nature of our sport, which helps people to understand and respect different cultures.”

In addition to the High-Performance component, part of the Australian Government’s Funding announcement includes support for Football Australia’s Club Development Program.

“This funding will enable Football Australia, in partnership with its Member Federations and other stakeholders, to deliver enhanced services and engagement to football Clubs, participants, coaches, and administrators across the nation,” Johnson added.

“Through education and support, we will be able to help grassroots and community Clubs improve their capacities, which will boost the experience and environment our diverse, multicultural, and large football family feel when they engage with the game in a variety of formats.

“Overall, this announcement is a great launching pad for our Legacy ‘23 plan and we look forward to continuing to work with the Federal, State, and Territory Governments, as well as our nine Member Federations, to fully realise our Legacy ‘23 plan across participation, community facilities, leadership and development, as well as tourism and international engagement.

“There is so much to come, and a stronger partnership between Governments at all levels and football will unlock the true potential of our sport for everyone in our country, especially leading into the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.”

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

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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Image Credit: Shutterstock

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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