Game-Changer Ahead: Football NSW Unveils 2026 Club Development Conference

Stace Ioannidis12/11/2025 6:00 am11/11/2025

Football NSW has confirmed that the 2026 Club Development Conference will take place at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday, 7 February 2026. Now in its third year, the annual event has become a cornerstone of Football NSW’s commitment to helping community clubs grow stronger, plan smarter, and operate more sustainably.

The conference brings together association staff, club committee members, and football administrators from across the state for a full day of workshops, keynote sessions, and networking opportunities. Attendees will hear from leading voices in Australian sport across a diverse range of topics including: safeguarding, volunteer management, sponsorship, governance, finance, diversity and inclusion, refereeing, coach education, grants, and infrastructure planning.

Building on Momentum
Following the success of the 2025 event, which attracted more than 150 representatives from 85 clubs, Football NSW is aiming to deliver an even more impactful program in 2026. The day will feature interactive sessions designed to provide practical insights that clubs can immediately apply within their local environments.

Football NSW’s Club Development team said the conference continues to evolve in line with the needs of community clubs, focusing on real-world strategies that support growth both on and off the pitch.

Recognition Through the Club Changer Program
As part of Football NSW’s broader Club Changer initiative, clubs that achieve 1-star, 2-star, or 3-star accreditation before 9 December 2025 will be rewarded with complimentary tickets to the conference. Additional group discounts will also be available for association staff and club representatives looking to attend together.

Tickets and Registration
Early bird tickets are available until 31 December, with full details available on the Football NSW website.

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SBS expands Australian Championship broadcast coverage for 2026

Oliver Van Bronswijk23/09/2026 9:01 am23/09/2026

Image Credits: Football Australia

The Australian Championship will enter its second season with an expanded broadcast partnership between Football Australia and SBS. The 2026 competition will feature two live SBS broadcasts in every round, marking an increase from the tournament’s debut season.

Thursday night football will form a key part of the new broadcast schedule. The opening match will see Preston Lions face Wollongong Wolves on October 15th, with the game broadcast live on SBS2 and SBS On Demand. Saturday football will also remain part of the free-to-air schedule; first up, Sutherland Sharks’ clash with South Melbourne on October 17th will be shown live on SBS and SBS On Demand.

The expanded agreement gives the competition a greater presence across SBS’s linear channels while retaining its full streaming coverage, with every match across the 2026 Australian Championship available live on SBS On Demand. The platform also provides full replays and highlights for viewers to access at their discretion.

In addition to SBS’ coverage, Football Australia will also stream the competition via YouTube.

The Australian Championship consists of a six-round group stage, finals beginning at quarter-finals from November 26, and a Grand Final scheduled currently between December 10-12.

It features 16 clubs from seven states and territories. The broadcast schedule places several historic fixtures in front of a national audience: South Melbourne will meet Sydney United 58 in a repeat of the 1999 NSL Grand Final, and Sydney Olympic and Marconi Stallions will also renew a rivalry that includes NSL Grand Final meetings in 1989 and 1990.

IMG takes commercial lead on inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup

Lorcan Marelich22/09/2026 6:05 am21/09/2026

Image Credit: Vietnam Football Federation

IMG has been appointed to lead the global commercialisation of the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, giving the new Southeast Asian national-team competition an established international sports business partner ahead of its first edition.

Under the strategic partnership, IMG will manage worldwide media and sponsorship rights sales while also overseeing broadcast production for the tournament, which takes place from 24 September to 5 October across Indonesia and Hong Kong, China.

The inaugural competition will feature 14 national teams, including all 11 ASEAN members alongside guest nations, with matches split between two divisions. Division 2 fixtures will be played in Jakarta and Badung, while Division 2 matches will be played in Hong Kong.

The agency’s role will include selling sponsorship and media inventory internationally while helping establish the broadcast infrastructure required to present the tournament to audiences outside Southeast Asia.

The partnership builds on IMG’s existing strategic relationship with PT Garuda Sepak Bola Indonesia, which has been working with the Football Association of Indonesia since 2025 on areas including commercial strategy, media rights, production and digital development.

For FIFA, the tournament creates another international football property in a region with a large and increasingly connected football audience.

For IMG, it adds another major regional property to a football portfolio that already includes competitions and organisations across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.

The immediate challenge will be turning the inaugural tournament into a sustainable commercial property capable of attracting broadcasters and sponsors beyond its first edition.

If successful, the FIFA ASEAN Cup could provide Southeast Asian national teams with a recurring commercial platform while giving IMG another foothold in one of football’s developing markets.