Stronger Country Communities Fund goes towards regional NSW

Staff Writer
The Stronger Country Communities Fund

Venues in regional NSW have been provided with significant funding thanks to the Stronger Country Community Fund – Round 5.

The Stronger Country Communities Fund (SCCF) will improve the wellbeing of communities in regional areas, by not only bringing in new or upgraded social and sporting infrastructure but also strongly supported community programs.

Since 2017, the Stronger Country Communities Fund has provided $660 million for more than 2,530 projects that make regional communities a true place to call home. The SCCF delivers grassroots projects to every single Local Government Area in regional NSW.

Round 5 of SCCF has seen over $2.3 million worth of funding allocated. This was split with over $1.9 million allocated within the Football NSW footprint and just under $500,000 within the Northern NSW Football footprint.

This means that multiple infrastructure and participation projects can improve the overall future for people who want to get involved in sport.

As per of the fund, Kindra Park, Marulan Soccer Field, Thompson Street Sporting Complex, Harry Moore Oval and Terry Reserve have all benefitted.

Among the improvements for the venues, field lighting, drainage, irrigation, and surface upgrades and all included.

Harry Moore Oval, home of the Toukley-Gorokan Football Club, received $520,000 to upgrade subsoil drainage and irrigation, the largest amount for any football venue. This was badly needed as a year of wet weather and flooding meant that local clubs had limited field access.

Football NSW, Manager Government Relations, Funding, and Infrastructure, Daniel Ristic, said via press release.

“We know the presence of drainage and irrigation infrastructure has a significant impact on the continued capacity of playing fields,” he stated.

“48% of football fields across NSW do not have drainage, and 40% don’t have automatic irrigation.

“The 400 plus members at Toukley-Gorokan FC will now be able to enjoy a quality venue with little to no disruption during the season.”

The full list of successful applicants for Stronger Country Communities Fund can be viewed here

Further grant opportunities like Stronger Country Communities Fund can be found here by clicking on ‘available grants’ on the Football Facilities website.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
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

Avatar
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.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend