Female Football Week 2024 taking over in NSW

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Image credit: Football NSW official website

The nationwide sensation that is Female Football Week is bearing down upon Australians who are passionate and are involved within the globally appreciated sport of football.

Football Queensland had already discussed movements for the week, as Football NSW (FNSW) have followed on swiftly – sharing their activity throughout the week which begins on the May 3, running until the 12th.

Before delving into what will be on offer throughout the decorated occasion, it would be remiss to not discuss the powerhouse in which is the NSW, in regards to their footballing pedigree within the women’s game.

The A-League Women competition is globally received as one of the best female football leagues. On a domestic front, Sydney boast a diverse and talented pool of prolific female football players.

Decorated Matildas Kyah Simon and Alanna Kennedy are just some of the few in which where produced across NSW to feature for Australia as staples within our national setup.

In contrast to other Australian states, Sydney have quite the established female football plethora. The main purpose of Female Football Week for Sydney is not to necessarily build upon that by driving participation events.

From the 2023 national report, 85,710 females of all ages participated in football throughout the year – making up 48% of participants throughout 2023 within NSW.

They have four times the amount of participants boasted in Victoria, while tripling the female involvement within Queensland.

Female Football Week within Sydney will feature a festival of football at the height of events on offer with skill clinics undertaken with renowned female ambassadors.

Female football rounds alongside come and try sessions are also involved within the special week. Three workshops all featuring important and coveted female footballing brains will occur throughout the week.

The three events are all crafted to support the community of football throughout NSW. The first of three occur on the May 6, where a referee training session will be held at the Valentine Sports Park. The session will run for 90 minutes, encouraging referee involvement while potentially attracting potential participants.

A 2.5 hour coaching workshop is scheduled to run on May 8, advancing the knowledge of community coaches throughout the state while enabling coaches to network amongst each other.

Finally a Women in Sport Panel will conclude the event series. The 90-minute session is conducted to highlight the importance of women within sport primarily football.

Submission upon the FNSW website is encouraged for those who wish to participate and have involvement within the female football week.

You can find full information here.

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Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

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The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
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Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

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