COVID SAFE Active Clubs Kickstart program available

Liam Watson
Football Queensland

Sport organisations in Queensland have until June 30 to apply for the COVID SAFE Active Kickstart program – featuring a $2000 grant.

The funding is designed to help these sporting organisations to restart their activities and competitions safely following Covid-19.

Applications first opened on May 25 but the deadline to get this in has been extended to June 30. The Queensland Government has addressed relevant details to be met when applying.

Organisations will be eligible to apply as long as they meet the following criteria:

  • Registered with an ABN
  • local or regional level Queensland not-for-profit sport or recreation organisation or not-for-profit community organisations
  • Sport or recreation clubs associated with a Queensland university.

When applying, there must be no outstanding compliance issues with the Office of Fair Trading spanning more than six months – and no debt owing to the department. Organisations are advised to provide clear and accurate information to secure their chances of a successful application.

The funding of $2,000 (excluding GST) can be used for one of the following categories as outlined by the Queensland government. The funds can be dispersed across multiple projects under one of the individual sections:

  • equipment to help deliver quality physical activity experiences e.g. equipment to improve the quality or safety of physical activity experiences (including balls, bats, racquets, helmets, batting pads, goal post padding)
  • training to help deliver quality physical activity experiences e.g. coach/official/instructor education and accreditation
  • equipment to improve your ability to manage the organisation: e.g. office equipment/software to assist organisations with financial/administration management
  • training to improve your ability to manage the organisation e.g. governance, financial or volunteer management training/courses/conferences
  • catering/food purchases to set up for restart post COVID-19 e.g. replace perishables that expired during COVID-19 restrictions
  • operational expenses including costs to deliver activities, utilities, ground and facility maintenance costs, safety and sanitisation requirements e.g. water and electricity utilities bills, COVID-19 related signage, and sanitisation stations

The following list has been identified as areas that will not receive funding:

  • White goods
  • Capital works or fixed structures (e.g. shade sails and stands)
  • Discreet consultancy without any education/training for the organisation (e.g. developing a strategic plan/grant application or administration fees)
  • Feasibility studies/research
  • Prizes/giveaways/alcohol/recognition items/merchandise
  • Wages of ongoing/seasonal nature (e.g. paid coaches).

For clubs looking to apply for the COVID SAFE Active Clubs Kickstart program, the online portal is available here.

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

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Image credit: BBC

The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s influence and impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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