Football Queensland and McDonald’s unite in a bid to boost quality of grassroots football

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Football Queensland

Football Queensland has announced a partnership with McDonald’s as the statewide naming rights sponsor of the Football Queensland Premier League (FQPL) Men and Women competitions and its Official Quick Service Restaurant and Coffee Partner.

McDonald’s were previously in a partnership with Football Queensland, dating back to 2010, where the aim was to invest into the sport at all levels on the Sunshine Coast.

Football Queensland CEO, Robert Cavallucci expressed his pleasure for what has been a strong long-term partnership with the fast food giant.

“This is an incredible opportunity to partner with such an iconic brand; McDonald’s have been proud supporters of football and Football Queensland is excited to expand the relationship across the state, delivering a range of benefits and opportunities for the football community,” he said in a statement.

“The Football 2020+ reforms have enabled these strong commercial partnerships which underpin Football Queensland’s commitment to delivering growth in the commercial sector to keep putting downward pressure on the cost of football for participants, which is key to achieving critical strategic objectives outlined in our 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.”

In their 2023-2026 strategic plan, one of their four major pillars is named ‘Unifying Football’ in which the main ambition is to unite the game and unlock the sports’ true potential in a bid to be more inclusive for people in less fortunate circumstances.

This is a great initiative set by Football Queensland that shows their heart lies where it should, with the grassroots game.

McDonald’s Australia Marketing Manager North East Region, Jessica Altmann, spoke highly of Football Queensland as a partner.

“Maccas are thrilled to be a partner of Football Queensland and are excited to officially support the great game of football,” she added via press release.

“We know that Maccas is already part of the football ritual, whether it’s stopping in on the way home from a game or the early morning McCafé run before taking the kids to their weekend games. It’s great to be taking it to the next level and proudly play an active role in communities across Queensland.”

Football Queensland will also provide marketing support for the McDonald’s annual McHappy Day event, a charity day with funds being raised for the Ronald McDonald House Charities to support families with seriously ill children.

This partnership opens up opportunities for McDonald’s to leverage as well, with a promise to include benefits to participants.

Under this new partnership some regions across the state will have additional opportunities to participate in promotional activations, with more details to be released at a later date.’ it mentions in the article announcing the partnership.

Overall, the collaboration has been a rather successful one for over a decade, providing huge support for the grassroots game in the Sunshine Coast, and the benefits coming out of this new upgraded partnership should provide a huge step forward regarding FQ’s 2023-2026 strategic plan of attracting more participants.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

Launched in 2024, the research project recently welcomed two US-based organisations: the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

 

About Project ACL

Led by FIFPRO, PFA England, Nike and Leeds Beckett University, Project ACL aims to research ACL injuries and understand more about multifactorial risk factors.

After piloting in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Project ACL will expand to the NWSL in the US, reflecting the global importance of the project’s research and outcome.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and NWSL to Project ACL,” said Director of Women’s Football at FIFPRO, Dr. Alex Culvin, via official press release.

“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organisers and stakeholdersaround the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”

Interviews with over 30 players and team surveys across all 12 WSL clubs provided the project’s research team with valuable information about current prevention strategies and available resources.

Furthermore, the project tracks player workload and busy schedule periods during the season through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool, therefore gaining insights into the link between scheduling and injury risks.

 

Looking to the data

Project ACL’s partnerships with the WSL – and now the NWSL – are immensely valuable for the future of player welfare in women’s football.

Although ACL injuries affect both male and female athletes, they are twice as likely to occur in women than men. However, according to the NWSL, as little as 8% of sports science research focuses on female athletes.

In Australia, several CommBank Matildas suffered ACL injuries in recent years: Sam Kerr was sidelined from January 2024 to September 2025, Ellie Carpenter for 8 months after suffering the injury while playing for Olympique Lyonnais, and Holly McNamara came back from three ACL’s aged 15, 18 and 20.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2025/26 ALW season saw several ACL incidents, including four in just two weeks.

 

Research, prevent, protect

Injury prevention and research are vital to sport – whether professional or amateur.

But when the numbers are so shocking – and incidents are so common – governing bodies must remember that player welfare comes above all else. Research can inform prevention strategies. Prevention means players can enjoy the game they love.

The work of Project ACL, continuing until 2027, will hopefully protect countless players across women’s football from suffering long-term or recurring injuries.

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.

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