Why a collaborative One Football Strategy is critical for the game

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In a move that signals a potential shift in how effectively the game is governed here, Football Australia (FA) has teamed up with Australia’s nine Member Federations to release the One Football Strategy.

Developed collaboratively over the past 18 months through copious in-person working group meetings, the release of the One Football Strategy is a first of its kind for Australian football that ambitions to bring together FA and the Member Federations in a unified fashion to take Australian football to new heights by 2026.

Made up of nine separate governing bodies – New South Wales, Northern NSW, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory – the Member Federations have often earned criticism which takes aim at the inconsistencies in governance between each state.

However, with Member Federations now provided with and agreeing to an official framework to align and contribute to, the establishment of the One Football Strategy bodes well for a game that has long seen its supporters calling for a greater volume of concrete answers and less idealistic rhetoric.

Motivated by a shared purpose of bringing communities together through football, the vision of Football Australia and its Member Federations is to ultimately inspire people to live and love the game. For FA, fulfilling these aims requires adhering to the 15-year vision outlined in 2020’s XI Principles, with FA Chairman Chris Nikou reaffirming the strategy’s importance:

“The One Football Strategy 2022 – 2026 provides a framework by which we can now measure success as a game. It will require a collective focus, progressive thinking and discipline from the game’s governing bodies to bring this plan to life.

“We are committed to this Strategy and will deliver it with our Member Federations and stakeholders in an effective and impactful manner.”

Significantly, the One Football Strategy resolutely articulates how FA and the nine Member Federations will implement these changes. Moreover, by 2026, FA envisions the following for Australian football:

  1. We are on track to hit our target of 50/50 gender parity in participation by 2026
  2. A National Men’s 2nd Tier Competition is established and continues to evolve
  3. A Women’s Australia Cup has been established and connects the pyramid for women’s football
  4. The A-League Men and Women has expanded and continues to provide valuable match minutes for player development
  5. Our clubs are excelling in Asian competitions
  6. Club Licensing is raising the standards of clubs nationally
  7. A modern and progressive domestic transfer system is driving the domestic football economy
  8. An aligned and coordinated domestic match calendar connects and unites Australian football
  9. Our National Teams are qualifying regularly for World Cups
  10. A digital transformation has taken place throughout the game
  11. Australian football structures are more streamlined and effectively servicing the football community
  12. Our fans are more engaged through innovative products and world class experiences

To achieve these ambitions, FA has aligned with the state federations to establish a strategic vision divided into four pillars:

  1. Participants & Clubs
  2. Elite Teams & Pathways
  3. Fans
  4. Unifying Football

Participants & Clubs

The One Football Strategy’s First Pillar is rooted in the goal of making football the most accessible sport in Australia. Fundamentally, participation retention and subsequent development (especially among women and girls), support for clubs and volunteers, and creating accessible pathways are intrinsically key to building a sustainable football ecosystem and identity.

For FA and the Member Federations, success means expanding on the 1,421,804 participants, 2,345 clubs, 130,251 female outdoor participants, and 417,415 male outdoor participants that play the game. More specifically, FA have outlined the following as indicators of success:

  • 2% YOY increase in grassroots NPS
  • 400,000 additional women & girls playing football
  • Improving the football product/ experience
  • 60% of the change room nationally are “female-friendly”
  • Programs that will promote social cohesion, improve health outcomes and celebrate diversity in Australian society

Elite Teams & Pathways

In order to successfully “reimagine the Australian football player development ecosystem”, FA and the Member Federations have prioritised enhancing methods of player identification; improving youth playing pathways and opportunities for coaches; renewing the national curriculum; embracing big data to drive player development; and refining the NPL competitions for girls and boys

In addition to producing world class teams, players, coaches, referees, and administrators, the One Football Strategy identifies the necessity of strengthening pathways and competitions. This relates directly to Principle IV of the XI Principles, which reaffirms that a connected football pyramid effectively translates grassroots development into players coming through the A-Leagues, prospective National Second Division, and beyond. To ensure this occurs, FA and the Member Federations have stated that Pillar Two’s success will look like:

  • FIFA Top 5 Matildas
  • FIFA Top 25 Socceroos
  • Representation at all World Cups for National Teams
  • A modern domestic transfer system
  • An established National Second Tier competition
  • Build state-wide national academies

Fans

It’s been an inarguably chaotic and disenchanting few years to be an Australian football fan, particularly in light of the obvious nullifying of momentum caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. However, to attract and grow an inspired fanbase who love and are invested in Australian football, whilst re-engaging football adherents who have opted to step away from the sport, is a task of major importance for FA and the Member Federations.

Growing passion for the Socceroos and Matildas must be an organic process, but there can be no shying away from the advantages posed by the Socceroos’ World Cup journey in Qatar and the Matildas’ home World Cup next year. The One Football Strategy shows that FA and the Member Federations are looking to “optimise the fan experience” and “establish innovative products to drive fan engagement”, with success determined by:

  • An increase in the NPS score for fans
  • The Socceroos and Matildas becoming Australia’s favourite national teams
  • A thriving National Team Membership Program
  • Minimum 70% capacity in average of all Matildas and Socceroos home matches
  • 5% YOY increase in average spend per fan

Unifying Football

Fundamentally, the heart of the One Football Strategy’s message and purpose is within the goal of uniting the game to unlock the world game’s true potential within Australia. The effective implementation of the One Football Strategy can only be truly measured in 2026, however the potential afforded to the sport by FA and the Member Federations coming together to achieve greater alignment and to maximize operational efficiencies is inherently positive for football.

What success will look like for Pillar Four:

  • Creating a new and fit-for-purpose governance and administration model for Australian football
  • Streamlined service delivery and removed duplication across Australian football structures
  • Increased revenues for the game, and lower the cost of football for participants
  • Improved service levels to the grassroots

Less problems to fix, overlapping of responsibilities and detractions from the goal that unites all of the game’s stakeholders is way overdue, and no doubt would have required major self-reflection and self-analysis on the part of FA and the Member Federations. Fans will be hoping that the outcome of this intense collaboration leads to brighter days ahead.

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South Melbourne’s A-League dream is still a bridge too far

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Image Credits: Soccerscene

The A-League has just lost a Victorian club. The death of Western United and the suspension of its license by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) on August 10th was inevitable. The club says it wants to rebuild and eventually return to the competition. That is unlikely to happen considering the search for new owners has to begin.

But one day after the announcement from Western United, South Melbourne stepped forward. The four-time NSL winners announced their intention to begin formal discussions with the APL about joining the A-Leagues. They believe the timing is right. Their argument is understandable. Their football credentials and history are stronger than most A-League teams.

But there is a problem. South Melbourne may have the history. It may have the supporters. It may even have one of the most attractive potential derbies in Australian football. But that does not mean it will get an A-League licence.

In fact, the more realistic prediction from my perspective is that South Melbourne will once again be told no.

South Melbourne has never been better placed

There is plenty to like about South Melbourne’s position. The club is not simply relying on its history. South Melbourne returned to national competition through the inaugural Australian Championship in 2025. It did not merely participate. South Melbourne won it. The club defeated Marconi Stallions 2-0 in the final to become the competition’s first champion.

That achievement matters. The Australian Championship was created to bridge state-based football and the professional game. Whilst it is seen as a second tier, there is no promotion and relegation with the A-League. But it has also continued to perform on the national stage. In the 2026 Australia Cup, which South Melbourne qualified for, they reached the final rounds and then produced one of the biggest results of the tournament.

Adelaide United came to Lakeside Stadium. South Melbourne won 2-1. Adelaide had won the Australia Cup three times. South knocked them out in front of its own supporters. They’re now into the quarter-finals of the 2026 Australia Cup.

South Melbourne celebrating the Australian Championship Image Credits: South Melbourne FC

The club also has a much bigger story to tell than its recent results. Alongside its four NSL victories, the club also won the 1999 Oceania Club Championship and represented Oceania at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. The club has a dedicated supporter base and the history to deserve a place.

The club says its Oceania Professional League participation has helped make it Australia’s 13th professional football club. It has more than 150 businesses supporting it in 2026 and a long-term arrangement at Lakeside Stadium, in the heart of South Melbourne.

On the football side, it wants to continue competing in the NPL, Australian Championship and Oceania competition even if it enters the A-Leagues. It also has lofty ambitions to introduce an A-League women’s side.

On paper, it is difficult to argue that South Melbourne is not ready. The problem is that readiness and admission are two different things.

Third time’s the charm?

South Melbourne’s current push is not new. It has been here before. The club was pursuing an A-League return almost immediately after the NSL disappeared. In 2007, South announced its interest in becoming the second Victorian A-League club.

Then came the 2008-09 process. South Melbourne backed the Southern Cross bid for the second Victorian licence. The club proposed a new team based around the redevelopment of Bob Jane Stadium and involvement from the broader Victorian football community.

It lost. The Melbourne Heart bid won the race and eventually became Melbourne City. That was South Melbourne’s first major warning. Its football heritage was not enough. Its second major attempt came almost a decade later.

The 2017-18 expansion process produced the most serious South Melbourne bid yet. South made the shortlist for an expanded A-League licence. It ultimately lost to Western United. Bill Papastergiadis has since explained that he did not genuinely expect South Melbourne to win in 2018, despite believing strongly that the club belonged in the A-League. He also reflected on the barriers facing a traditional club trying to enter the existing Victorian professional football ecosystem.

That is important context for today’s bid. South Melbourne is not entering negotiations without understanding how difficult the politics and economics of the Victorian football market can be. The club has tried the direct route twice. Neither time worked.

The Western United lesson

This is where the current situation becomes complicated. In isolation, adding South Melbourne would be fantastic for the A-League. Imagine South Melbourne against Melbourne Victory. The atmosphere would be enormous.

There is a genuine football rivalry waiting to happen. South itself points to the potential for ready-made derbies and commercial interest. But the argument that Melbourne should simply have three A-League clubs because Melbourne is a huge city ignores what has just happened to Western United.

Western United was supposed to represent Melbourne’s rapidly growing west. Its original vision centred on a major project in Geelong. The club eventually moved into Ironbark Fields in Tarneit in 2024.

Yet the geographic separation never became as clear as the original concept suggested. Western United was not a Geelong club. It was not a regional Victorian club in the traditional sense. It was a western Melbourne club based and that matters.

The A-League already has Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. Adding South Melbourne would give the competition three clubs operating within the same metropolitan football market. It is not necessarily brilliant for the business model, which has already lost a club operating on the outskirts of Melbourne.

The NSL offers an interesting historical comparison. The Falcons provide an even more striking Victorian example. They became the first and only regional Victorian club to play in the NSL, reaching the finals in 1996. The distinction is important.

A national competition can expand its footprint by adding genuinely new markets. That is different from adding another club inside an existing Melbourne metropolitan market. That was what was envisioned for Western United, and it failed quickly.

Will the APL see South Melbourne as a safe investment? Despite the fact they’re a well-established club, I’d argue the answer is no.

Promotion and relegation is the only realistic route

There is one scenario where South Melbourne could eventually force its way into the A-League, and that’s the great missing piece of Australian football. Promotion and relegation. South Melbourne would not need somebody to decide that Melbourne suddenly has room for another licence. It would simply need to earn it.

They would have done just that in 2025, winning the Australian Championship if the football pyramid was open. Football Australia originally designed the National Second Tier with the possibility of promotion and relegation being considered once the competition matured.

The format connects NPL clubs and established foundation clubs with national competition. It does not provide a sporting pathway into the A-League. South Melbourne can win the Australian Championship, NSL and Australia Cup but none of those achievements automatically produce an A-League licence.

South Melbourne in the Oceania Championship Image Credits: Oceania Championship

Opening the pyramid is far more complicated than simply announcing promotion and relegation. Australia’s football calendar is fragmented. The A-League operates primarily through the summer months. The NPL operates through the winter and early spring. For the 2026-27 season, the A-League Men runs from October to June, while the NPL begins in February and finishes in September.

That creates an enormous structural problem for a fully connected pyramid. The clubs below the A-League would need to operate at a level capable of supporting professional football. If the A-League aligned with the NPL and the lower pyramid, it would compete in a football calendar that already has to coexist with Australia’s other major winter sports. That is a difficult feat against bigger leagues such as the AFL and NRL.

Beyond that, clubs lower down would need travel budgets and to survive commercially would take real sacrifice from all parties to make that work. The A-League’s existing clubs also have something to lose. They have invested heavily in their licences and their businesses.

Historically, A-League licences were extended through to 2034, while those licence arrangements have included provisions allowing promotion and relegation to be introduced. But the existing clubs will do everything in their power to block it. Promotion and relegation removes certainty. An A-League club can finish last in the current system with no threat to their place. Under relegation, its place is no longer guaranteed.

That is a major commercial change for clubs that have invested in securing their position in the competition. It is therefore difficult to imagine the A-League opening the door. The A-League’s licensing system gives the competition enormous control over who enters, and for South Melbourne historically they’ve been left out in the cold.

South Melbourne deserves the conversation.

The frustrating part is South Melbourne has probably never had a stronger argument. It has history, supporters, infrastructure, commercial support and most importantly, ambition. Beating A-League clubs in national competition proves the capability is there.

It deserves to be in the conversation. But being in the conversation is not the same as being selected. The Western United experience should be a warning. If the A-League could not make the Western United project work, it is difficult to see why it would suddenly decide that another Melbourne club is the answer.

South Melbourne may be the better football story. It may even be the better football club. But the A-League is not simply selecting the best football story.

It is selecting a professional competition, and until Australia embraces a genuine promotion and relegation system, South Melbourne’s path back to the top flight will remain dependent on someone handing it a licence.

That is the part of the dream that looks unrealistic. South Melbourne can keep knocking and it should. They always say third time’s the charm. But unless the pyramid is opened, I expect the door to remain closed.

Socceroos star Nestory Irankunda completes landmark move to Sporting CP

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Image Credit: Associated Press

Socceroos winger Nestory Irankunda has completed a move to Portuguese champions Sporting CP for a reported fee of up to $32 million, making it one of the largest transfers involving an Australian footballer.

Irankunda who most recently played for Watford in the English Championship has signed a 5-year deal with the Portuguese giants.

Following a successful World Cup campaign there were a number of European clubs circling the 20-year-old Australian.

The prospect of playing UEFA Champions League football was a major factor in Irankunda’s decision to join the Lisbon outfit

“Any child or person who loves football dreams of playing in the UEFA Champions League. Having this opportunity will be fantastic and a dream come true”

Irankunda becomes the second Socceroos player to complete a major European transfer this window, joining Lucas Herrington in securing a high-profile move.

Sporting announced the signing with a social media video featuring Michael Jackson’s Bad. A nod to Irankunda’s well-known admiration for the pop icon as the Australian begins the next chapter of his career.

The move continues Sporting’s tradition of recruiting and developing emerging talent, with the Lisbon club renowned for producing players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Luís Figo and Nani.

For Australian football, Irankunda’s move represents another significant milestone, highlighting the growing reputation of Australian players in Europe.

Reinforcing the increasing demand for Socceroos talent across some of the continent’s biggest clubs.

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