Science in Sport continues as Western United’s Official Performance Nutrition Partner

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Image credit: Western United

Western United FC has announced a two-year extension with Science in Sport as its Official Performance Nutrition Partner.

Science in Sport is one of the world’s leading performance nutrition brands, combining world-class knowledge and scientific formulations to provide optimal performance solutions across the nutritional need states of energy, hydration, and recovery. This is done through world-leading research and their innovative programme, Science in Sport formulates evidence-based products aiming to aid an athlete’s performance.  

Science in Sport have been partnered with Western United since November 2020 and they will reach a sixth season after this deal. The nutrition brand has played a pivotal role in player nutrition and performance at the club.

This recently signed two-year extension will allow the club and its academy players to continue to access Sports in Science’s award-winning sports nutrition products and expertise. 

Mal Impiombatio, Western United General Manager of Football, spoke about continuing their partnership with the nutrition brand:

“We are thrilled to be extending our partnership with Science in Sport for another two seasons. Sports in Science has played a key role in our player’s nutrition and performance throughout the past four seasons, and we are excited to continue working with a world leader in performance nutrition,” he said in a media statement on Western United’s club website.

Sports in Science Global Head of Elites, Tom Rose, added about the two-year extension:

“We are delighted to be renewing with Western United, providing the team with world-class nutritional support and latest innovations to fuel their performances in the A-League,” he said in a media statement on Western United’s club website.

They have also worked with many Australian sports teams and organisations such as the AIS and fellow A-League sides Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix FC.

Sports in Science have also branched out internationally with other football clubs such as Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and MLS outfit New York City FC.

Nutrition has become an essential part of a footballer’s routine and this partnership between Western United and Science in Sport will prove beneficial in ensuring players will play to an optimal standard.

For more information about Science in Sport and its products, visit their website.

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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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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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