Football Queensland’s 2022 annual report highlights progress towards One Football Strategic Plan

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Football Queensland Annual Report
Image credit: Football Queensland

With over 78,000 games played throughout the state-wide linked football pyramid in 2022, Football Queensland continued to revolutionise football in the state, being an inspirational year for the sport.

Implementing the Future of Football 2020+ competition changes took up a substantial amount of 2022 as Football Queensland strengthened the linked football pyramid that had been created in 2021 to link tournaments and enhance routes for clubs and players around the state.

Accordingly, and as a thrilling addition for local clubs, FQ introduced the FQPL Champions League in 2022. The FQPL Champions League was created to provide aspiring players brand-new chances as they fought against the best of the best from both their conference and the rest of the state. The first FQPL Champions League brought together the top teams from the Northern, Central, and South East Queensland conferences. It was a successful campaign and a great addition to the 2022 competitive schedule.

Participation

Women and girls saw a nine percent growth from 2021 and a total of of 28,912 players participating, making promising signs for the women’s football. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and beyond will be played in more inclusive environments thanks to the efforts of the Our Game Network Queensland, which was introduced during FQ’s Super September.

The youth saw an increase in numbers as well, with a total of 38,876 young boys and girls participating in MiniRoos programs across Queensland in 2022. This saw a 7.6% increase in female MiniRoos registrations compared to 2021.

FQ partnered with Brisbane Roar and local clubs to deliver MiniRoos Kick-Off After School programs for girls in 2022. The initiative focused on engaging girls enrolled in Prep to Year 3 in the MiniRoos program, developing their love for football and supporting their transition from school to club football. This program was the key factor in increasing youth and in particular girls participation in the game.

Futsal

A record number of teams from across Queensland participated in the 2022 FQ Futsal State Titles, held in September at the Nissan Arena in Brisbane. The State Titles provided an opportunity for teams from across Queensland to come together to compete to become champions within their age group, and the overall champion club.

Sunshine Coast Wave were crowned the inaugural FQ Futsal Club champions in 2022, with points awarded across FQ’s major futsal tournaments and leagues including the Futsal State Titles, the F-League and the SEQ Futsal Premier League.

Inclusive

Football Queensland offer a variety of ways to ensure everyone can be involved in the sport, a great way to promote different types of soccer for all ages and skill levels. This includes walking football, beach soccer, Q-League and the National Para Football Championships.

Referees

The Protect Our Game project was introduced in April by FQ. Its goal is to prevent bad behaviour both on and off the field while fostering a healthy atmosphere and supporting behaviour within Queensland football. A state-wide Protect Our Game campaign was put in place, and implemented a three-strike regulation to fight referee abuse.

In line with FQ’s commitment to growing the number of referees within our game, 25 referee staff were appointed across each of the nine regions in Referee Coach and Development, Support, Mentoring and Training roles to strengthen the development of match officials in Queensland.

Referees are a crucial part of the game, with Football Queensland knowing how important they are and investing in referee development is a step in the right direction to produce more referees in the future.

Coaches

Football Queensland launched the FQ Coaches Club pilot program across South East Queensland, designed to provide additional support and development opportunities for community coaches.

With 7,763 registered coaches within the state and a six percent increase in female coaches, the FQ Coaches Club pilot program was beneficial in helping more coaches receive their licences.

Promoting the game

2022 was another hugely successful year of growth in Football Queensland’s digital broadcast reach as more than 820,000 unique viewers tuned in to the FQTV Match Centre launched this year.

Total unique viewers increased by 113% in 2022, demonstrating the huge level of interest and appetite for Queensland football content.

Football Queensland continues to work on developing all aspects of the game and increasing their numbers throughout the year.

To see the report in full, you can click here.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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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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