Football SA releases Return To Competitions Requirements

Daniel Foley22/06/2020 1:00 pm12/10/2021

Football SA has released its Return To Competitions Requirements after restrictions were eased in the state, to ensure a safe return to the field.

Football South Australia (SA) has released its Return To Competitions Requirements after restrictions were eased in the state, where a number of procedures and rules are put in place to ensure a safe return to the field.

Football SA has chosen June 25, 2020 as the date that sports can return, where the following rules and implementations must be kept consistent across each organisation.

The maximum number of players and officials allowed in the field of play at any time are 11 players for each team on the field, five players per team on the bench, two team officials per team, one medical person per team and four match officials.

For facilities with multiple fields, there is a limit of 100 spectators at the grounds. At a single field facility, the maximum number of spectators is 500.

Football SA is also asking players to refrain from group huddles, including when celebrating after a goal.

Changing rooms are allowed to be used, but participants are asked to use them quickly. A maximum of 19 people are allowed into the room at one time. Until further notice, shower facilities are to be avoided.

In the Return To Competitions Requirement media release, Football SA said that the measures put in place are the minimum expectations for a safe and sustainable return to competition.

“The impact of COVID-19 resulted in the suspension of all football activities in early March. Since this time, Football South Australia has been working with Government Departments to reboot the sport,” they said.

“The sport has been returned in a staged approach in line with government easing of restrictions to ensure the health and well-being of all participants. This document outlines the requirements to return the sport to competitions as of 25 June 2020. Details of competition start dates will be provided by Football SA or the Affiliated Association.

“The conditions set out in this document are in line with government directions as at the date of issue and are required to be implemented. This document and its conditions will be amended in accordance with any future government directives.”

Football SA’s Women’s NPLSA, Junior Premier, State and MiniRoos Leagues will resume from Friday June 26, 2020.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

Declan Chan30/04/2026 6:15 am29/04/2026

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

Declan Chan29/04/2026 2:22 pm29/04/2026

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.