Fennell Forestry to develop future football stars in Limestone Coast region

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Football SA
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Football South Australia has finalised a key collaboration with Fennell Forestry, with the local business funding to assist the upcoming stars in the Limestone Coast region.

Delivering high-quality services to industry-leading softwood growers in Australia’s premier Green Triangle timber-producing region, operating between Mount Gambier and Perth, the haulage and harvest company has supported Football South Australia’s (FSA) long-term priority to enhance the game in the Limestone Coast.

FSA announced over a month ago it will employ full-time staff and commence an occupancy at Mount Gambier’s new Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre.

The harvesting operations are organised by a team of highly-skilled operators in state-of-the-art harvesting, forwarding and loading equipment.

In relation to ongoing safety and efficiency, every truck is checked over on a fortnightly basis in a modern and fully furnished, by a team skilled in the know-how which includes two managers, three certified diesel mechanics as well as three apprentices.

FSA Chief Executive Michael Carter said via press release:

“The first is establishing the Fennell Forestry Scholarship Fund to support young players wishing them to participate in the local competition, the second is a supporting partnership with the development centre for talented young boys and girls within the Limestone Coast region, demand for participation in the game has never been greater.”

Fennell Forestry Managing Director Wendy Fennell added via press release:

“Our kids are at a distinct disadvantage due to the fact that they live in a regional area, it’s no secret the Limestone Coast is a great place to live, raise a family and do business – that’s why I am so keen to invest in this region and help give our local kids the same opportunities as their city counterparts.”

Fennell Forestry has secured a place as a Green Triangle timber industry leader – past, present and future – due to the expertise of Wendy Fennell knowing the inside and out of the operation and the timber industry.

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

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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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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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