FIFA and GIZ Sport present the new Women’s Empowerment programme

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Image credit: FIFA official website

FIFA has joined in a collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to fund 16 global organisations through the Sport for Women’s Empowerment programme.

GIZ works on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and has chosen the NGO LA Guilde to be the implementor of the financial support.

This programme aligns with the FIFA Women’s Development Programme and Germany’s feminist development policy, which is focused on sports-based approaches to gender equality and fits well with FIFA’s programme for growth in female football.

All these initiatives support the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The central theme of the programme is to demonstrate how sport would be used as a tool to combat gender inequality, tackle gender-based and sexual violence, or empower and strengthen the role of women.

200 organisations across 30 GIZ’s partner countries submitted project proposals.

From this, 16 were chosen – of which 10 are football-specific projects and 3 FIFA Associations are included. These organisations are spread across Africa, Asia, The Middle East, South America and the Western Balkans.

This is a huge enterprise taken by FIFA and GIZ to expand and fund the women’s game internationally.

It shows the partnership potential FIFA has with organisations and investors that want to expand their programs into the sporting world and their popularity with international organisations and markets, especially if this fits into the positive empowerment of equality in sports within poorer communities around the world.

The 16 successful organisations are:

  • Togolese Football Association (Togo)
  • Football Association of Indonesia (Indonesia)
  • Ghana Football Association (Ghana)
  • ENGIM (Albania)
  • Together Advancing Common Trust, TAKT (North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • Bareeq Education & Development (Jordan)
  • Permanent Peace Movement (Lebanon)
  • Cleo (Colombia)
  • Girls United Football Association (Mexico)
  • Anahat for Change Foundation (India)
  • Sudhaar Society (Pakistan)
  • Action des Volontaires d’Innovations pour le Développement, AVID (Congo DR)
  • Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo, VIS (Ghana)
  • Community Forum Organization, COFO (Malawi)
  • Demain Dès l’Aube (Togo)
  • Association Togolaise pour la Promotion du Sport pour Tous, ATPST (Togo)

“We are very excited about the huge number of applicants; all of them organisations using the power of sport to improve gender equality in their communities,” Jens Elsner said via media release, Head of the GIZ’s Global Programme.

“I am convinced that the winning organisations will make an impact by reaching out to young people and letting them experience that change towards a more inclusive and equal society is possible.”

FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman added via press release: “FIFA is dedicated to increasing female representation and diversity in football, at all levels, on and off the pitch, and this initiative is a great example of how we can create more opportunities for women through collaborating with others.”

In total, the successful organisations list features 10 football-specific projects, four multisport projects, one rugby project and one volleyball project.

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Football Victoria recognised in Pride in Sport Index 2026

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Image credit: Parilov / Shutterstock.com

The Silver Status shows Football Victoria‘s commitment to providing Victorians with a safe, inclusive landscape for all to enjoy the beautiful game.

Everyone’s game

Earlier this month, the Australian Pride in Sport Awards recognised several organisations and individuals across the nation who continue to champion inclusive spaces in the world of sport.

Among the nominees was Football Victoria, who received the Silver Status. FV Executive Manager Equity, Programs and Government Relations, Karen Pearce, expressed her pride at the achievement.

“Achieving Silver Status in the Pride in Sport Index is an important reflection of the work being done across Football Victoria to ensure LGBTQ+ people feel safe, welcomed and included in our game,” Pearce said via official press release.

“We remain committed to embedding inclusive practices across all levels of football, and continuing to create environments where everyone can belong, participate and thrive.”

 

Inclusion matters

While recognition is always a positive reflection of successful work behind the scenes, it is important to remember what the work intends to achieve.

Football – and sport in general – is a unique opportunity to bring diverse communities together, and to compete, spectate and enjoy the game on an equal playing field.

Furthermore, as custodians of ‘the world’s game’, governing bodies, fans and players around the world all share the responsibility to empower marginalised groups to feel included.

Two months ago, The Premier League introduced their own initiative – Premier League With Pride – reflecting their own commitment to ensuring football grounds, schools and academies remain welcoming.

 

Final thoughts

There is no place for hate or abuse in football, whether on a grassroots field or professional stadium.

Football Victoria will continue its journey and commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community – at all levels of the game – for many seasons to come.

Football Queensland to celebrate Female Football Week with statewide events, awards and coaching programs

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Brighton women's football motion
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Football Queensland will mark the 2026 Female Football Week with a program of statewide events, competitions and professional development opportunities running from May 8-17, as the governing body continues to push for broader access and representation across all levels of the women’s game in Queensland.

The nationwide initiative, now a fixture on the Australian football calendar, provides a concentrated period of visibility for female participation across playing, coaching, officiating and administration: areas where structural underrepresentation has historically limited both the growth of the game and the opportunities available to women and girls within it.

“Female Football Week provides us with a valuable opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women and girls across our game while continuing to increase the accessibility of football in Queensland,” said Football Queensland CEO Robert Cavallucci. “We encourage our clubs to host their own Female Football Week events and activations for female participants.”

 

Elite Competition Meets Community Access

The centrepiece of Football Queensland’s program is the return of the NPL Women’s Magic Round to Nudgee Recreation Reserve on May 8 and 9, featuring five NPL Women’s Round 13 clashes alongside a Girls United Junior Carnival and family-friendly activations. Each Magic Round game will feature an all-female refereeing panel, a deliberate and visible commitment to developing the next generation of female match officials at a moment when referee shortages are among the most pressing structural challenges facing the game nationally.

A Women in Football networking event will be held on the opening night of Magic Round, bringing together coaches, match officials and administrators. The inclusion of that event alongside elite competition is significant because it positions professional development and community building not as supplementary activities but as core components of what Female Football Week is for.

The Central Coast region will host its own Magic Round on May 16, featuring a Youth Girls game and three FQPL Central Coast Women’s matches, while a Darling Downs Junior Girls Day will take place at Captain Cook Park on the same day, extending the reach of the week’s programming beyond the southeast corner of the state into regional Queensland.

 

Coaching access as a structural priority

Football Queensland will deliver a series of female-only coaching courses around Female Football Week, with clubs also able to express interest in hosting their own. The initiative addresses one of the most persistent barriers to female representation in football administration- its coaching pipeline.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of the game in Australia, and the barriers to accreditation, including cost, availability and the cultural environment of mixed coaching courses, compound one another in ways that individual ambition alone cannot overcome. Female-only courses create environments where women can develop without those barriers, and their delivery during Female Football Week signals that the commitment extends beyond celebration into structural change.

The Girls United Carnivals, running in both Metro and Far North and Gulf regions alongside the Q-League Schools program at Meakin Park, extend that access to players at the earliest stages of their football journey.

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