Female Football Week 2024 taking over in NSW

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Image credit: Football NSW official website

The nationwide sensation that is Female Football Week is bearing down upon Australians who are passionate and are involved within the globally appreciated sport of football.

Football Queensland had already discussed movements for the week, as Football NSW (FNSW) have followed on swiftly – sharing their activity throughout the week which begins on the May 3, running until the 12th.

Before delving into what will be on offer throughout the decorated occasion, it would be remiss to not discuss the powerhouse in which is the NSW, in regards to their footballing pedigree within the women’s game.

The A-League Women competition is globally received as one of the best female football leagues. On a domestic front, Sydney boast a diverse and talented pool of prolific female football players.

Decorated Matildas Kyah Simon and Alanna Kennedy are just some of the few in which where produced across NSW to feature for Australia as staples within our national setup.

In contrast to other Australian states, Sydney have quite the established female football plethora. The main purpose of Female Football Week for Sydney is not to necessarily build upon that by driving participation events.

From the 2023 national report, 85,710 females of all ages participated in football throughout the year – making up 48% of participants throughout 2023 within NSW.

They have four times the amount of participants boasted in Victoria, while tripling the female involvement within Queensland.

Female Football Week within Sydney will feature a festival of football at the height of events on offer with skill clinics undertaken with renowned female ambassadors.

Female football rounds alongside come and try sessions are also involved within the special week. Three workshops all featuring important and coveted female footballing brains will occur throughout the week.

The three events are all crafted to support the community of football throughout NSW. The first of three occur on the May 6, where a referee training session will be held at the Valentine Sports Park. The session will run for 90 minutes, encouraging referee involvement while potentially attracting potential participants.

A 2.5 hour coaching workshop is scheduled to run on May 8, advancing the knowledge of community coaches throughout the state while enabling coaches to network amongst each other.

Finally a Women in Sport Panel will conclude the event series. The 90-minute session is conducted to highlight the importance of women within sport primarily football.

Submission upon the FNSW website is encouraged for those who wish to participate and have involvement within the female football week.

You can find full information here.

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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.

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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