Oakleigh Cannons confirm $4m grant for Jack Edwards Reserve upgrade

Matthew Galea06/09/2021 5:55 am01/11/2021

Jack Edwards Reserve, home of NPL Victoria outfit Oakleigh Canons and Chisholm United, is set for a $4 million upgrade, revealed on a recent Cannons Facebook post.

The funding announcement states that the Cannons have received a $4 million grant for a new pavilion and facility upgrade.

“This project is not just a football project; it is a community project; Oakleigh Cannons and Jack Edwards Reserve are a social hub, a meeting point for parents, grandparents, siblings,” Oakleigh Cannons president Stan Papayienneris said.

“Now the state government in their foresight and entrustment in us have decided that the facilities should be improved. Further, they will add to the existing facilities, and hopefully, upon completion, it will be something that is considered world-class.

“This facility is going to be a step closer to our goal of having women’s teams in the NPL; it is going to provide the infrastructure that’s required.”

Oakleigh MP Steve Dimopoulos hailed Jack Edwards Reserve as an “anchor” of the local community and was delighted to confirm the grant.

“It is one of the anchors of the Oakleigh community; when you talk about a community anchor, there is probably no bigger than the Cannons and Jack Edwards Reserve,” he said.

“The Victorian government this year has fully committed and confirmed a $4 million grant to help achieve this vision.”

Club Chairman Kon Kavalakis was delighted to see the grant confirmed.

“It has been an unbelievable journey with a lot of hurdles, and we have overcome every single one of them,” he said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank local MP Steve Dimopoulos and the Monash City council for their continued support throughout this process.”

The statement on the Cannons’ Facebook page also stated that the club was continuing to work with Monash City Council on further upgrades.

“In conjunction with the Monash City council, we look forward to working together to complete the new pavilion and facility upgrade which is estimated to cost between $10-12 million,” the statement read.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

Declan Chan30/04/2026 6:15 am29/04/2026

Image Credit: SCFC

South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

Declan Chan29/04/2026 2:22 pm29/04/2026

Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.