Football NSW reveal new Modular Sporting Facilities Guide

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Football NSW and Northern NSW Football have announced the release of its tenth facility guide, titled Modular Sporting Facilities.

The new guide joins the other nine in the series in assisting clubs, zones, associations and local councils in developing, upgrading and preserving community football facilities.

“The release of this Modular Facility Guide ties in perfectly with our recently published NSW Football Infrastructure Strategy. Inclusive Football Facilities is one of five key pillars in in our strategic framework,” Football NSW CEO Stuart Hodge said.

“With Women’s participation making up almost 25% of the total participants in NSW, we understand the need for more female friendly facilities. We have a FIFA Women’s World Cup in two and half years which will no doubt see the female numbers spike in the coming years.”

Northern NSW CEO David Eland further highlighted the importance of having guides such as this available for every club and association in the state.

“Our extensive state-wide audit highlighted that 23% of all football venues do not provide a player change room. Players of all age groups need a safe place to change no matter what sport you are participating in,” he said.

“Seventy-eight percent of player change rooms across NSW are not gender-neutral complaint. Our new Modular Facility Guide will provide clubs a fantastic opportunity to deliver modern, safe and compliant buildings for the future.”

Increasing female participation numbers in safe, inviting environments is a strategic priority of the NSW State Government, Football NSW, Northern NSW Football, and other local government authorities.

Within the guide there are six amenity building designs that are provided to clubs to showcase what can be achieved with modular buildings.

“We are proud to continue our support for the NSW football community through the release of this important guide,” said Jane Brisbane, General Manager Eastern Region for Ausco Modular.

“Ausco Modular is known for producing buildings which are sustainable, delivered quickly and tailored specifically for football by our in-house design team.

“We are excited to collaborate with clubs, associations, zones, Football NSW and Northern NSW Football on improving infrastructure throughout the state on an ongoing basis.

“Working with local sporting groups to provide facilities that benefit their community, particularly females participating in sport, promotes positive social engagement, and uplifting community interaction.”

The Modular Sporting Facilities Guide can be viewed here.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

Launched in 2024, the research project recently welcomed two US-based organisations: the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

 

About Project ACL

Led by FIFPRO, PFA England, Nike and Leeds Beckett University, Project ACL aims to research ACL injuries and understand more about multifactorial risk factors.

After piloting in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Project ACL will expand to the NWSL in the US, reflecting the global importance of the project’s research and outcome.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and NWSL to Project ACL,” said Director of Women’s Football at FIFPRO, Dr. Alex Culvin, via official press release.

“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organisers and stakeholdersaround the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”

Interviews with over 30 players and team surveys across all 12 WSL clubs provided the project’s research team with valuable information about current prevention strategies and available resources.

Furthermore, the project tracks player workload and busy schedule periods during the season through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool, therefore gaining insights into the link between scheduling and injury risks.

 

Looking to the data

Project ACL’s partnerships with the WSL – and now the NWSL – are immensely valuable for the future of player welfare in women’s football.

Although ACL injuries affect both male and female athletes, they are twice as likely to occur in women than men. However, according to the NWSL, as little as 8% of sports science research focuses on female athletes.

In Australia, several CommBank Matildas suffered ACL injuries in recent years: Sam Kerr was sidelined from January 2024 to September 2025, Ellie Carpenter for 8 months after suffering the injury while playing for Olympique Lyonnais, and Holly McNamara came back from three ACL’s aged 15, 18 and 20.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2025/26 ALW season saw several ACL incidents, including four in just two weeks.

 

Research, prevent, protect

Injury prevention and research are vital to sport – whether professional or amateur.

But when the numbers are so shocking – and incidents are so common – governing bodies must remember that player welfare comes above all else. Research can inform prevention strategies. Prevention means players can enjoy the game they love.

The work of Project ACL, continuing until 2027, will hopefully protect countless players across women’s football from suffering long-term or recurring injuries.

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.

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