Football Queensland invest heavily into referee development  

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Football Queensland have announced a significant investment into referee development, with seven Referee Coach and Development Officers appointed across the sunshine state.

The officers will work closely with the FQ referee department to raise the standard of officiating in Queensland.

“On behalf of Football Queensland, I’d like to congratulate the Referee Coach and Development Officers who have been appointed to the newly-created roles,” FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci said.

“In the 2020–2022 Strategic Plan, we identified the need to grow referee numbers across the state whilst improving the quality and standard of refereeing. The appointment of these seven Officers represents the biggest investment Football Queensland has made in match officials and a step change in achieving our strategic referee outcomes.

“This announcement follows the implementation of a range of new FQ referee initiatives in the last 18 months, including the first-year referee pack, referee e-learning platform and the Referee Academy.

“It was fantastic to see these new initiatives result in an 18% increase in referee registrations in February 2020 compared to February 2019, however we know there is still more important work ahead to realise our Strategic Plan target of reaching 2,200 referees by 2022.”

“These appointments will ensure that we have consistency across the state with regards to referee education and coaching, fitness training and assessments, and will be critical in supporting the delivery of FQ’s Strategic Plan outcomes.”

FQ State of Referee Manager, Jacqui Hurford, said of the new developments: “The Referee Coach and Development Officers will assist the FQ Referee Department with the recruitment and retention of referees in each zone, while providing a new level of support to match officials from a local perspective.

“The zone-based Referee Coach and Development Officers will also provide valuable guidance to FQ on how we can better assist the zones in strengthening referee development and support.

“With additional development coordinators, appointment coordinators and quality coaches now supporting the work already being undertaken at a zone level, particularly in regional areas, we are confident that FQ is heading in the right direction and on track to increase referee numbers across the state.”

The seven Referee Coach and Development Officers are Marsh Camille (Sunshine Coast), Brad Burton (Wide Bay), Trevor May (Mackay), Sam Williams (CQ), Cory Skilton (North Queensland – Southern Conference) and Nathan O’Connor (North Queensland – Northern Conference).

In the Gold Coast zone, Mark Simon-Green will oversee the role with the help of locally appointed referee coaches.

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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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