Play Our Way program promises more important funding for women’s football

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The Australian Federal Government is accepting applications for its Play Our Way program, a $200 million initiative to provide better facilities and resources for girls’ and women’s sport.

The total funds will be spread over a three year period – 2024-2025 to 2026-2027 – in what is expected to be a round-by-round process.

The program replicates the funding stream approach similar to the NSW State Government’s Football Legacy Fund, and SA State Government’s Power of Her fund, offering one stream for facilities & infrastructure, and the other for programs and equipment.

In a recent statement, the Government outlined who is eligible to apply for funding, and what those successful will be expected to achieve.

Program applicants include:

  • Local governments
  • Community organisations
  • Not-for-profit organisations
  • Sporting organisations

If successful, the above entities will be expected to:

  • Provide safe, inclusive, quality and sustainable facilities, equipment and initiatives.
  • Help women and girls to remain involved in sport and physical activity for life.

The fund’s overarching purpose is to bridge the gap in physical activity participation between men and women.

However, it is important to note that none of these funds are quarantined for football purposes, despite the fund’s announcement against the backdrop of Matildas and Australian football success in August, 2023.

Whilst the overriding good nature of the program is indisputable, football clubs and communities will need to roll their sleeves up to secure funds that the game rightfully deserves for surging demand.

New South Wales and Western Australia have already set new records in girls’ and women’s football registrations this year, illustrating why football needs more funding at grassroots level to guarantee a positive experience.

Importantly, a webinar will be held on March 22 (today) so that potential applicants can ascertain a greater understanding of the fund and the application process. The registration link for this webinar can be found at the bottom of this article.

The NSW Football Legacy Fund is evidence of what funding can do for football in local communities, and with South Australia opening the Power of Her fund alongside the Federal Government’s Play Our Way program, there is currently no shortage of opportunities for football to expand in 2024 and beyond.

Play Our Way program applications opened on March 18, and will close at 2pm (AEST) on April 29.

Play Our Way webinar registration link

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/webinars/play-our-way-program-grant-opportunity-guidelines

For further details and questions

Full details are available on https://help.grants.gov.au/.

All questions about the program should be directed to Grant.Atm@health.gov.au.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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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.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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