Football players, coaches and administrators unite to tackle online abuse ahead of A-Leagues campaigns

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Australia’s football players, coaches and administrators have committed to tackle online abuse – promising to call out perpetrators, ban offenders from matches, strip club memberships and refer incidents to the police.

The A-Leagues, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and Football Coaches Australia (FCA) will crack down on the rise in abuse directed at players and coaches, with a reporting platform established for players and a framework developed for elevating matters to authorities.

Earlier this month, the A-Leagues, PFA and Football Australia joined over 20 other major sporting organisations from around Australia in signing the Online Safety Statement of Commitment to actively support the work of the eSafety Commissioner to help keep all Australians – from grassroots to professional athletes, staff and officials – safe online.

With the Isuzu UTE A-League season kicking off tonight and the A-League / Women campaign on December 3, the zero-tolerance approach reaffirms the ongoing commitment from football to stamp out abuse; a message that will be broadcast in stadium at every A-Leagues match through the season.

APL Managing Director Danny Townsend said:

“We see the diversity of our fan base as one of the core assets of our game. In representing this fan base the A-Leagues are unequivocal in the rejection of online abuse and bullying. There is no place in our game for any action which deliberately causes a person embarrassment or harm.

“We welcome the joint initiative with PFA and FCA and are committed to working with our partners to ensure sporting environments are safe, inclusive, welcoming and respectful, and this includes in the online space.”

PFA Co-Chief Executive Beau Busch said:

“Domestically and internationally, we have witnessed the impact online abuse can have on people. The PFA has a zero-tolerance approach to hate, abuse and discrimination, and we will hold those who engage in it accountable.

“Given the scale of the problem, a shared commitment is required to adequately deal with this growing issue, and we welcome the commitment of FCA and the A-Leagues to tackle this problem together.”

FCA President Phil Moss said:

“Football is a passionate game, however, extending this passion to online abuse and vilification is unacceptable and tackling this issue is a priority of FCA.

“Coaches, referees and players are human beings pursuing the sport they love and doing their best in their respective roles in a high-performance environment. I’ve been on the receiving end as a coach hence why I’m so passionate about this campaign.

“A mutual respect and an agreed code of conduct needs to exist between all football stakeholders, including spectators and online ‘critics’.

“As was introduced in the Premier League in 2020, we support a dedicated reporting system being available for players, coaches, referees and their family members who receive serious online abuse.”

The PFA has established a reporting tool for its members to report abuse and discrimination here.

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

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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

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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.

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