Queensland clubs get in excess of $600,000 in approved funding

Staff Writer
Football Queensland

Football Queensland affiliates are encouraged to consider applying for future rounds of the Gambling Community Benefit Fund after over $600,000 in funding was recently approved for Queensland clubs and organisations.

24 FQ affiliates were successful with approvals totalling $625,457 in the recently announced May 2019 round, with the next round closing on October 31.

Not-for-profit groups operating in Queensland can apply for grants from $500 to $35,000 through the Gambling Community Benefit Fund, one of the state’s largest one-off community grants programs that distributes approximately $57 million per year.

The fund allocates grants to not-for-profit community groups, to enhance their capacity to provide services, leisure activities and opportunities for Queensland communities.

This program is a great way for Queensland clubs and zones to present a proactive approach to their members and community in supporting the development of the game.

Gambling Community Benefit Fund May 2019 Approvals:

Bayside Strikers Soccer Club Purchase Shade Tents $2,800
Bethania Rams FC Install Commercial Kitchen $35,000
Canungra Owls Soccer Club Upgrade Kitchen $35,000
City Brothers FC Purchase Lawn Mower $21,500
Estates Soccer Club Upgrade Facility $33,202
Football Brisbane Electronic Scoreboard $35,000
Gladstone United FC Construct Shed $33,925
Gracemere Redbacks FC Construct Change Rooms $35,000
Kingaroy Snrs Soccer Club Install Field Lighting $35,000
Logan Lightning FC Construct Fence & Shelter $35,000
Longreach Jnr Soccer Purchase Shipping Container $8,250
Monto FC Goal Posts & Training Equipment $10,808
Narangba United FC Purchase Equipment & Trailer $35,000
North Brisbane FC Install Solar $35,000
North Queensland Football Ltd Canteen Equipment $35,000
Olympic FC Construct Junior Field $35,000
Parkside United Jnr FC Replace Shed $26,353
Pine Hills FC Upgrade Lighting $32,486
Roar Recreation & Welfare Ltd Purchase Soccer Equipment $15,000
Stanthorpe Carlton United FC Upgrade Change Room Facility $14,760
Tarragindi Tigers Sporting Association Change Rooms & Canteen Equipment $35,000
Tinana FC Purchase Equipment $10,000
Walking Football Brisbane Purchase Equipment $17,231
Westside Sports Club Construct Fencing & Seating $34,052
TOTAL $625,457
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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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