Football NSW continue to work towards on-field return

Football NSW, in conjunction with the NSW government has announced that community sport in the state should be recommencing on July 1.

The date has been confirmed by both Football NSW and the government. However, despite how well Australia has been coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a risk of a second wave and we all still need to be cautious.

In an email sent on Tuesday, Football NSW CEO Stuart Hodge reassured the public that normality is edging ever closer and that restrictions for community clubs are being eased.

“Together with your Associations and Clubs, we have all worked hard planning formats and preparing match fixtures for a revised 2020 winter football season. With this in mind, on 25 May 2020, Football NSW submitted to the NSW Government a request for an exemption to the Public Health Order to allow all football to recommence playing matches in early July.

Whilst today’s announcement provides a welcome green light for the restart of junior and youth football, the return date for senior football remains unset. I want to reassure you that we are doing everything on your behalf to get clarity as to what that date will be. I know that many teams have commenced training and, like you, I am keen to get everyone back playing as soon as possible”, Hodge stated.

Hodge and Football NSW made four key statements regarding the return to football. These are as follows:

• That the return to sport would be subject to specific Guidelines – Understandably, there are still risks and although a second wave is appearing unlikely, the NSW government will not want to rush into any decisions on something that they may see as ‘non-essential’.

• Training can take place in groups of ten, observing stated social distancing and other measures – Football NSW’s ‘Return to Training’ guidelines stated this two weeks ago and as of the time of writing, it is the same. Although restrictions are being eased every week, training groups are capped at ten for the time being.

• Training is NOT restricted to children – Community clubs with high-level senior teams are now able to resume formal training. This is hopefully the first step in getting the NPLNSW back into action very soon.

• Competitions for players aged 18 and under can commence from 1 July 2020 – Perhaps the biggest news story out of this press release, competitions are on the verge of returning by the end of the month. With senior teams now training regularly, one must consider whether one month’s preparation will be enough for the players heading into the season. The isolation has essentially been a second off-season for players.

You can find Stuart Hodge’s full statement via this link:

In this time, news of this sort can only be viewed as positive. The more state competitions that begin to open up and start working towards a restart, the better.

After initial concerns regarding potential starting dates, it seems that Football NSW has opened up to the idea of restarting their season soon. Which is great to see.

There will still be concerns and that is completely understandable. At a time when we seem to be over the worst, we need to see it through to the end. In saying that, we need to be prepared for when complete normality arises and it seems as if we’re on that track.

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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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