Applications open for Power of Her funding initiative in South Australia

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The South Australian Government is accepting applications for the first round of its $18 million Power of Her funds program, dedicated to improving facilities, equipment and programs for women’s sport.

First announced in October last year, the fund follows the Power of Her Leadership Symposium, which brought together leaders from six South Australian women’s sport teams to discuss the future needs of female sport.

Surging demand for female participation in football, after the success of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, has highlighted the need for a greater provision of high-quality resources in South Australia.

As a result, the State Government has quarantined $10 million of the proposed $18 million for women’s football developments only.

The fund is divided into two streams: programs and equipment, and infrastructure. For the remainder of the 2023-2024 financial year, $2 million will be available ($1.8 million to infrastructure and $200,000 to programs and equipment).

Funding uses could include the construction of female-friendly changerooms, an increase in player and coaching programs, and more equal provisions of football equipment.

According to Football SA (FSA), girls’ and women’s participation in football will grow 33% in the next three years, and CEO Michael Carter is thankful for the State Government’s contribution to  harnessing the growth of women’s football in South Australia.

“Initiatives that support the improvement of spaces to play for our rapidly growing football community are to be applauded,” he said via government release.

“The funding announcement to support women and girls’ infrastructure will have a profound impact on future participants in sport.”

South Australian Premier Peter Malinsauskas adds that the funding scheme goes beyond helping football thrive, and will strive for greater physical activity participation amongst females.

“By making these investments in infrastructure, programs and projects that facilitate greater participation of girls and women, we can ensure the World Cup leaves a legacy for generations to come,” the Premier stated.

“This will deliver a social, health and community dividend and result in a more equal society.”

Applicants will require a funding partner to match at least 50% of the funds, which will effectively  unlock a further $10 million worth of investment.

However, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, Katrine Hildyard, says the government will support applicants in their mission to receive the game-changing funds.

“We’ll be working alongside State Sporting Organisations, associations, Councils, local clubs and schools to ensure female friendly initiatives that meet the driving needs of South Australian women and girls are funded and provide greater opportunity for all South Australian girls and women to take up or deepen their participation in their chosen sport,” the Minister said in a statement.

“The upgrade and development of sporting facilities, programs, and equipment is exceedingly important to ensure that girls and women of all abilities can participate and I am so proud that this grant program will help deliver them.”

Following the success of the NSW Football Legacy Fund, the Power of Her initiative will hopefully deliver the same positive impact for South Australian football.

Applications for the first round close on April 3rd, with applicants to be notified of the result in June this year.

To apply, you can do so here.

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Football Victoria and VicHealth partner on anti-racism program as community sport data reveals systemic problem

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football Victoria has partnered with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation to roll out the Set The Standard initiative across the state’s football clubs, in a collaboration that signals a significant shift in how Australia’s most popular club-based sport is approaching racism and cultural exclusion at the grassroots level.

The partnership brings together the state’s peak football governing body and its primary health promotion agency around a shared finding that can no longer be treated as incidental. According to the 2025 report Enhancing the Capacity of Victorian Community Sport to Tackle Racism, 56 per cent of surveyed participants had experienced or witnessed racism in community sport. In a state where football draws participants from some of the most culturally diverse communities in the country, that figure represents a systemic failure the sport can no longer address through conduct policies alone.

Clubs that subscribe to the Set The Standard newsletter will be entered into a draw to win one of three $1,000 vouchers, available for equipment, facility improvements, events or other community initiatives. The incentive is designed to drive early engagement with a program whose ambitions extend well beyond a newsletter subscription.

What the Partnership Signals

Racism in sport has historically been treated as a conduct and governance issue, managed through complaints mechanisms that require incidents to be formally reported and tend to significantly undercount the actual prevalence of harm. VicHealth’s framing of racism as a public health problem repositions the entire conversation.

Experiences of racism are associated with measurable negative health outcomes including anxiety, depression and social withdrawal. When community sport, which governments and health agencies actively promote as a vehicle for physical and mental wellbeing, becomes a source of those same harms, the public health cost is direct and quantifiable.

Resources, not Rhetoric

For Football Victoria, the partnership brings something the governing body cannot provide on its own. VicHealth’s credibility, resources and public health framework give the initiative a foundation that a sporting organisation working alone would struggle to establish. Set The Standard offers clubs practical tools and guidance built around progress rather than perfection, which reflects a realistic understanding of how cultural change works inside volunteer-run community organisations.

The $1,000 vouchers are not a side note. Most community clubs operate on tight margins, depend on volunteer administrators and are already stretched managing growing participation demands. Finding room to invest in cultural development programs on top of everything else is difficult. Providing tangible resources directly addresses that constraint at the point where clubs are most likely to disengage.

The program also arrives at a consequential moment. Football in Victoria is absorbing significant participation growth following the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and sustained increases in junior registrations, bringing new communities into the game in large numbers. The 2025 data suggests the environments those communities are entering are not consistently safe or welcoming. Participation growth and cultural safety work need to move together. A sport that grows larger without becoming more inclusive has not actually improved the experience of the people playing it.

Two NPL VIC clubs receive funding boost from State Budget

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Image credit: Football Victoria

Following the announcement of the 2026 Victoria State Budget, Avondale FC and Hume City FC will both receive major backing for facility upgrades.

 

Valuable support for future projects

Avondale and Hume City now have immensely valuable financial support for infrastructure and facility upgrade projects.

Avondale will see an injection of $500,000 for lighting developments at its home ground, Avenger Park. Meanwhile, Hume City FC, will receive $250,000 to further improve its home ground, Nasiol Stadium, which opened in 2009.

Both clubs expressed their delight at the funding from the State Labor Government, and what the backing may bring to club facilities and overall development going forward.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Victorian Government and Sheena Watt for their support through this $500,000 lighting upgrade investment, which will have a lasting impact on our players, families and the wider Avondale community,” said Avondale Club President, Stephen Strano.

“We have hundreds of players across all age groups utilising these facilities each week, and these improvements will help create an even strong environment for excellence, participation, and community engagement,” outlined Hume City President, Ersan Gülüm.

As a result of these respective investments, both NPL VIC outfits appear set for incredibly opportunities to modernise, develop and strengthen their club infrastructure.

 

Lighting the path to a brighter future

The investments will see features such as lighting upgrades improve facility access for men’s and women’s teams, and LED scoreboards become part of a more modern matchday experiences going forward.

For both clubs, however, lighting upgrades are about more than keeping a pitch open late at night. Improved lighting is a means to a more accessible and supportive future in which both the men’s and women’s teams can utliise local facilities, and matchdays can take place in the excitement of playing ‘under the lights’.

And as Football Victoria CEO, Dan Birrell, highlighted, the improvements made to club facilities are benchmarks for the wider Victorian football community.

“Both Avondale and Hume City are pillars in the Victorian football landscape,” Birrell stated via press release.

“Professional level facilities like Avenger Park and Nasiol Stadium are critical for the development of Victorian football and Football Victoria welcomes the news that they will continue to improve thanks to the support of the Victorian State Government.”

 

More must follow

While the investments from the State Government come as welcome updates for these two clubs, there is still plenty more to be done to evenly develop facilities and infrastructure across Victoria’s football landscape.

Indeed, Avondale FC and Hume City FC are two fantastic community clubs who will no doubt put the funding towards impactful improvements.

But there are plenty more who still need external backing to build infrastructure not just for now, but for future seasons to come.

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