Adelaide United commits to supporting next generation talent

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Adelaide United junior development program
Image credit: Adelaide United

Adelaide United has confirmed the launch of a new junior development program, set to start in October 2023.

The new program will be spearheaded by former Adelaide United player, Marcelo Carrusca, who brings eight years worth of youth development experience to the role. The program in fact will be an expansion of Carrusca’s pre-existing development program that has been a staple of the South Australian football community.

The new program will offer participants elite coaching, holistic development, confidence boosting activities, and it will also promote education on healthy lifestyles. The club aims for the program to be delivered in a safe and inclusive environment, helping participants not only grow as footballers but as better community members.

“Adelaide United Junior Development Program is built with a strong emphasis on skill development, respect, teamwork, and social skills. Not only will the Program develop football skills, but it will teach valuable life skills to use off the field,” the club said via press release.

The program comes off the back of a survey the club conducted with 700 of their fans. The aim of the survey was to better understand what fans wished to get from the club and football generally. As a result of the survey the club discovered that for many of the fans the Adelaide United Football Club is one of the paramount custodians of community football in South Australia.

Following this result, the Club then set to work developing ways that they can live up to this expectation. Adelaide United Chief Executive Officer Nathan Kosmina spoke of this custodial role in the programmes launch.

“As custodians of the game in South Australia, we are delivering on an aspiration to be champions of our community,” he said via press release.

“We are thrilled to be fostering skills both on and off the field to South Australian children, many of whom might have only been introduced to football recently.

“The investment in this program is testament to our commitment to the future of this great Club and the important role it plays in the South Australian community.

“The Adelaide United Junior Development Program is a key pillar in our community engagement and talent development strategies.”

The programs leader, Marcelo Carrusca, added to the CEO’s sentiments expressing the core aims that the program hopes to achieve for the South Australian community.

“I am so happy to be back home at Adelaide United,” he stated via media release.

“The new Adelaide United Junior Development Program will teach South Australian children the fundamentals of football, in addition to skills off the field to be the best person they can be.

“Our coaches are amongst the best in Australia, and I can’t wait to have a positive impact on so many South Australian kids.”

This announcement comes at a perfect time for football development. Not only is it the eve of return the hotly anticipated Isuzu UTE A-League season, but it’s also the time when interest in the game at the junior level is at an all-time high. Announcements such as this are a great indicator that the interest sparked by the home FIFA Women’s World Cup is going to affect real change and give more chances for the next generation of Australian football talent to succeed.

The full program schedule is as follows:

St Clair Oval
Address: Brocas Ave, St Clair SA 5011
Dates & Session Times:
Monday, 23 October – Monday, 11 December (8 Sessions)
5 – 8 Year Old – 6:00pm – 7:00pm
9 – 13 Year Old – 7:15pm – 8:15pm

Saturday, 28 October – Saturday, 16 December (8 Session)
5 – 8 Year Old – 9:00am – 10:00am
9 – 13 Year Old – 10:15am – 11:15am

Ridley Reserve East
Address: Judd Road, Elizabeth SA 5112
Dates & Session Times:
Wednesday, 25 October – Wednesday, 13 December (8 Sessions)
5 – 8 Year Old – 6:00pm – 7:00pm
9 – 13 Year Old – 7:15pm – 8:15pm

*The club has also committed to offering girls-only sessions at Ridley Reserve on Wednesdays and St Clair on Saturdays.

Registration can be made via this link: https://adelaideunited.com.au/community/junior-development-program

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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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