Women’s football reinforced by 118 new community grants

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Image Credit: Football Australia Website

Football Australia has celebrated the latest round of the Growing Football Fund Community Grants, with 118 clubs and associations awarded up to $5000 to support women’s football programs. 

In conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank, the latest grants from Football Australia built upon the first round of the program from March 2024 that saw 121 clubs and associations rewarded with grants.

The grants aim to strengthen women’s football through number of initiatives:

  • Assisting the development of female coaches by subsiding coach training programs
  • Assisting the hosting of ‘come and try’ days and participation programs
  • Assisting health and training workshops for women and girls
  • Assisting the allocation of professional female fitting uniforms

Through the program, Football Australia also illustrated its desire to bolster rural women’s sport by providing 38% of the grants to organisations from regional areas.

Football Australia General Manager of Women’s Football, Carlee Millikin, explained the impact the grants would have on community women’s football.

“We are thrilled to see the clubs and associations that have been awarded the grants demonstrating a strong commitment to long-term investment in women and girls’ football within their communities that goes beyond the financial,” she said in a press release.

“It means the Growing Football Fund can play its role to help supercharge their ambitions that result in positive outcomes for female participants. The wide breadth of projects is exciting, as it shows a deepening understanding of what is required to develop inclusive and safe environments.

“In partnership with CommBank, we have already seen great results from the round one clubs delivery of initiatives and look forward to witnessing how the latest cohort creates a lasting impact through their programs.”

CommBank’s General Manager of Brand, Sponsorship and Content, Di Everett, expressed their pride to sponsor the grants.

“We are so proud of what this fund has achieved so far, and congratulate the recipients of the Round Two grants,” she said via press release.

“We are passionate about making community sport more accessible for all. These grants have enabled clubs across the country to assist coaches through training opportunities and support local families through an expansion of programs to drive participation for young women.”

The clubs awarded with grants from Round Two of the program are listed below via member federation:

Capital Football 

  • BellaMonaro Women’s Football Club
  • Belsouth Football Club
  • Canberra Juventus Football Club
  • Canberra White Eagles Football Club
  • Tigers FC
  • Tuggeranong United Football Club

Football NSW

  • AC United Football Club
  • All Saints West Oatley Soccer Club
  • Ashfield Pirates FC
  • Austral Soccer Club
  • Balgownie Junior Football Club
  • Box Hill Rangers AFC
  • Collaroy Cromer Strikers Football Club
  • Colo Soccer Football Club
  • Enfield Rovers Football Club
  • Fairfield Bulls Football Club Inc.
  • Figtree Football Club
  • Football Canterbury Association
  • Forest Rangers Football Club
  • Future Leaders Australia Football Club Incorporated
  • Gordon Football Club
  • Gosford City Football Club
  • Leichhardt Saints Football Club
  • Leppington Lions Soccer Club
  • Lindfield Football Club
  • Millthorpe Junior Soccer Club Inc
  • Narooma Football Club
  • Narromine Soccer Club
  • North Epping Rangers Sports Club
  • North Turramurra
  • North West Sydney Football Association
  • Pennant Hills Football Club
  • Pitt Town Football Club
  • Ropes Crossing Strikers Football Club
  • Russell Lea Women’s Soccer Club
  • Sydney Uni Soccer Football Club
  • Wagga United Football Club
  • Warradale FC
  • West Griffith Soccer Club

Northern NSW Football 

  • Charlestown Azzurri FC
  • Coffs City United Football Club
  • Cooks Hill United Football Club
  • Corindi Red Rock Sports Association (Football Club)
  • Great Lakes United Football Club
  • Inverell Football Club
  • Moore Creek Football Club Inc
  • Norths United Football Club Incorporated
  • Old Bar Barbarians Football Club
  • Shores United Soccer Club

Football VIC

  • Barwon Heads Soccer Club
  • Bayside Argonauts Football Club
  • Berwick City Soccer Club
  • Boroondara Eagles Football Club Inc
  • Craigieburn city Fc
  • Croydon City Soccer Club Inc.
  • Darebin Women’s Sports Club
  • Daylesford & Hepburn United Soccer Club
  • Deakin Ducks Fc
  • Drysdale Soccer Club
  • Fitzroy Lions Soccer Club
  • Footscray United Rangers Football Club
  • Gippsland United Football Club
  • Glen Eira FC Football VIC
  • Keilor Park Soccer Club
  • Leongatha Knights Football Club
  • Middle Park Football Club
  • Officer City Football Club Incorporated
  • PEGS Soccer Club Football VIC
  • Phillip Island Breakers Soccer Club
  • Spring Hills FC
  • Swan Hill Soccer League
  • Traralgon Olympians Soccer Club
  • Truganina Lions Soccer Club

Football QLD

  • Annerley Recreation Club
  • Bluebirds United Football Club Inc
  • Brighton District Soccer Club Inc
  • Burdekin Football Club Inc
  • Centary Stormers FC
  • Dayboro and Districrs Football Club
  • Gold Coast Knights Football Club
  • Holland Park Hawks Football Club
  • Logan Village Falcons All Sports
  • Mackay Wanderers Football Club
  • Moreton City Excelsior FC
  • Rebels Football Club
  • Redlands United Football Club
  • The Gap Football Club
  • Townsville Warriors Football Club Inc
  • Woombye Snakes Football Club Inc

Football SA

  • Adelaide Ateltico
  • Adelaide Jaguars Football Club Incorporated
  • Campbelltown City Soccer and Social Club
  • Flinders United Women’s Football Club
  • Mount Barker United Soccer Club
  • Sacred Heart Old Collegians Soccer Club
  • South Adelaide Panthers FC
  • Sturt Lions Football Club Incorporated
  • The Pulteney Old Scholars Soccer Club Incorporated

Football West 

  • Baldivis Districts Sporting Club Incorporated
  • Country Coastal Junior Soccer Association
  • Esperance Soccer association
  • Forrestfield United Football Club
  • Karratha Glory Soccer Club
  • Kingsley Westside Football Club
  • Perth Atheletic FC
  • Twin City Saints Soccer Club
  • Westnam United Soccer Club

Football TAS

  • Clarence Zebras Football Club
  • Hobart City Football Clug
  • Launceston United Soccer Club
  • North Launceston Eagles Soccer Club
  • South Hobart Football Club
  • Woodbridge Football Club

Football NT

  • Darwin Olympic Sporting Club
  • Litchfield Football Club
  • Palmerston Rovers Football Club Incorporated
  • Stormbirds
  • Verdi Football Club

For more information on the grants, click HERE.

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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.

Football Community Supports Ange Goutzioulis Following MND Diagnosis

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Image Credit: One Nil Media

At just 52 years old, former National Soccer League player Ange Goutzioulis stood in front of a packed room at the Chisholm United launch night in Oakleigh and spoke about something no one ever expects to hear: a diagnosis of Motor Neuron Disease.

But rather than retreat into silence, Goutzioulis chose to speak openly. He spoke not just about the disease itself, but about the reality of living with it, the uncertainty ahead and why awareness matters more than ever.

 

Early stages

For years, football was part of Goutzioulis’ identity. Coaching, movement and routine were all things that once felt natural. Then slowly, something changed.

“I couldn’t even stand properly… I was losing my balance,” he explained.

At first, the signs were confusing rather than alarming. A couple of falls. Difficulty moving. Hospital visits and tests.

“They said, ‘You haven’t got cancer, you haven’t got MS and you haven’t got MND,’” he recalled.

But the symptoms continued worsening. Eventually, further neurological testing revealed the diagnosis: Motor Neuron Disease (MND).

The confirmation came quickly.

“They called it after two or three minutes… they saw the machines and basically said, ‘Yeah, you’ve got MND.’”

The shock was immediate.

So too was the reality.

 

Understanding Motor Neuron Disease

Motor Neuron Disease is a progressive neurological condition that attacks the nerves controlling movement, gradually taking away the ability to walk, speak, swallow and eventually breathe.

There is currently no cure.

For many Australians, awareness of MND remains limited until it touches someone close to them. Goutzioulis now finds himself confronting not only the physical decline, but the emotional weight of understanding what lies ahead.

“There’s no way to stop it… it’s going to kill me,” he said honestly.

Even breakthrough treatments tomorrow, he acknowledged, may come too late for him personally.

Yet despite the enormity of that reality, his focus has already shifted beyond himself.

 

Fighting for awareness while fighting the disease

What stood out throughout the evening was not despair, but resilience.

Goutzioulis spoke candidly about refusing to surrender mentally to the disease. Against medical advice centred around conserving energy and managing fatigue, he continues trying to stay active.

“I keep walking,” he said.

“I’ve got a theory in life that if you work out and keep moving, maybe [your] muscles won’t waste away as quick.”

Whether medically proven or not, the mentality reflects something deeper: a refusal to let MND define every remaining moment.

There was also optimism in the small victories.

Doctors believe he may have already been living with the disease for three years — longer than expected given his current condition.

“That’s a positive,” he said. “So, I’ll take it day by day.”

Image Credit: One Nil Media

Football’s power beyond the pitch

The event itself quickly transformed from a club launch into something more profound: a reminder of football’s ability to rally around people during their hardest moments.

As speakers addressed the room, one message became clear — Goutzioulis is not facing this battle alone.

“There’s probably 100 people here,” said Bill Kosmopoulos, who was hosting the discussion,

“I guarantee there’s 100 people cheering for you, 100 people that would do anything to find a solution for MND.”

In community football, conversations are usually dominated by results, signings, tactics and ambition. But nights like this reveal another side of the game entirely.

Connection.

Humanity.

Support.

By speaking publicly, Goutzioulis gave a deeply confronting disease a human face. Not statistics. Not headlines. A person. A father. A football figure. Someone trying to process what it means to slowly lose control of their own body while still showing up for the people around them.

That vulnerability is precisely why awareness matters.

Because awareness drives conversation.

Conversation drives funding.

And funding drives research that could one day change outcomes for future families facing the same diagnosis.

Image Credit: One Nil Media

“We’re behind you”

As the night closed, the room rose behind him.

Showing admiration for someone willing to confront unimaginable news publicly in the hope it helps others understand the devastating reality of MND.

“On behalf of everyone… thank you so much mate,” one speaker told him.

“We’re behind you.”

Support and raising awareness for the disease is what matters.

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