Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium soon to be cashless

Liam Watson

English Premier League club Arsenal have announced that the Emirates Stadium will go completely cashless from 1st of March 2020.

The move has come following research into how fans use common facilities and how they pay for various items, including bars, restaurants, kiosks, programme sellers and retail outlets.

The change is intended to improve a fan’s match day experience and overall efficiency at the 60,000-seat venue, with all previously mentioned outlets only accepting card payments in the near future.

Previously, the stadium had been cashless just for match days, but will also apply to non-match day events and venue hire.

It would only be places outside Emirates Stadium that will continue to accept cash, including retail stores, programme sellers and catering kiosk Chapman’s.

Arsenal have based their decision on extensive research that takes into consideration supporters’ habits, the overall match day experience, and other cashless venues across the UK.

“Ninety-three per cent of our stadium transactions are currently made via card payment,” said Tom McCann, Arsenal’s Venue Director.

“By moving to a fully cashless operation, our fans can expect to experience increased speed and shorter queue times at our bars and kiosks.

“Over the forthcoming match days and events, we will promote the move to a cashless stadium to prepare our fans for this change on 1st of March.”

Arsenal will join fellow well-acclaimed big six clubs who have introduced cashless as the simple and effective way forward.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, home of the Gunners’ North London rivals, is already cashless. Additionally, Premier League leaders Liverpool introduced cashless payments across Anfield during their top-flight game against Leicester City on 5th of October as part of a phased rollout, while current champions Manchester City signed a deal with cashless payment company Tappit in October 2018.

Arsenal’s first fully cashless match day will be the visit of West Ham United, currently scheduled for 7th of March.

As Arsenal joins a small but growing list of Premier League sides using cashless, many other clubs will be sure to follow suit.

It adds convenience to match day and saves supporters time sorting through cash and instead use their everyday card for venue resources.

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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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