FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to leave $10 million legacy for NSW football

Staff Writer

Football in NSW will receive a $10 million boost from the NSW Government as a legacy of hosting matches in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

The NSW Football Legacy Program will support football at all levels through the construction of new community facilities, participation initiatives, high performance, leadership and development programs as well as tourism and international engagement.

Minister for Tourism and Sport, Stuart Ayres, believes the NSW Football Legacy Program will ensure everyone involved in football across NSW will benefit from the state hosting matches at the tournament.

“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will take football in this country to unprecedented levels,” Ayres said.

“Sydney will host more matches than any other host city and the NSW Football Legacy Program will ensure everyone, from girls and boys lacing up their boots for the first time at the local park to our elite A-League Women, will benefit from NSW hosting matches at the tournament.

“I encourage the football family to apply for grants when the Legacy Fund opens later this year.”

Football Australia CEO James Johnson added the NSW Football Legacy Fund will enable the football community throughout NSW to support the growth of football well beyond the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

“One of the core objectives of our Legacy ’23 plan and Australia’s co-hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is to create enduring tangible benefits for the community, and thanks to the establishment of the NSW Football Legacy Fund by the NSW Government, more people throughout the State will benefit from new and enhanced football-specific programs and facilities for many years to come.”

Football NSW Deputy Chair Fiona Lang was thrilled about the significant impact the Fund would have on community football.

“From the moment Australia was announced as the co-host of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, we have been working hard to ensure a significant legacy is felt across the entire NSW football community,” she said.

“This Fund will support our Associations and Clubs to build capacity and capabilities to meet the needs of our fast-growing football community, which will champion future generations of participants.”

Football Australia Head of Women’s Football, Women’s World Cup Legacy & Inclusion, Sarah Walsh, viewed today’s announcement as a representation of a significant milestone for Football in NSW.

“As Australia’s largest community sport, we are experiencing extraordinary growth in women and girls’ participation,” she said.

“As we strive for 50/50 gender participation both on and off the field, the NSW Football Legacy Fund will deliver much needed investment across the entire football ecosystem. We look forward to working together with NSW Government to ensure that together we reach this goal.”

Northern NSW Football CEO David Eland concluded; “The NSW Football Legacy Fund aligns with NNSWF’s Strategic Plan and provides NNSWF with a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to partner with government to secure an enduring legacy for our game and communities.

“NNSWF’s Board of Directors have committed to complement the NSW government’s investment through the engagement of a dedicated Legacy Workforce consisting of three full-time staff who will assist affiliated clubs and stakeholders to engage and take advantage of the various programs, services and funding opportunities aligned to the NSW Football Legacy Fund.”

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Football Australia Expands Mental Skills Program for Match Officials Amid Sustained Focus on Referee Retention

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football Australia has confirmed a second national webinar for match officials, led by sports psychologist Dr Liam Slack, extending a referee development series introduced after strong engagement with an initial session on managing match-day pressure.

The upcoming session, themed “parking with purpose,” will focus on decision-making strategies designed to help referees process on-field calls and reset attention quickly across a match that can present hundreds of individual decisions. Dr Slack, who also consults with The Football Association and the AFC Referee Academy and previously spent over a decade as a performance psychologist with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited in England, brings substantial elite-level experience to a program open to officials at every level, from grassroots to professional.

The theme builds on work Dr Slack has already delivered within Australian officiating. He recently led a session with Football Australia’s National Referee Academy on the same concept, framing the ability to consciously park a decision and refocus on the next phase of play as a trainable skill rather than an innate trait, one that separates officials who reset quickly under pressure from those who don’t. He has also addressed more than 100 Football Australia elite match officials and staff on developing a stronger match-day mentality, an indication of how embedded this psychological framework has become across the officiating pathway rather than remaining a one-off intervention.

The expansion of the webinar series reflects a broader shift in how football administrators are approaching referee attrition. Rather than treating retention purely as a recruitment or pay problem, the program signals an institutional acknowledgment that the psychological demands of officiating, particularly the compounding pressure of split-second decisions under public scrutiny, are a material factor in whether officials remain in the game.

It rests alongside other measures adopted across Australian football in recent years, including visible identification programs for junior referees and structural reviews of referee departments at state federation level, all aimed at the same underlying issue: a shrinking pool of match officials relative to demand.

Football Australia has not detailed metrics for assessing the program’s impact on referee numbers, though the recurring engagement of an internationally credentialed specialist across multiple tiers of the officiating pathway suggests sustained institutional investment in the approach.

Arsenal FC announce Saint Lucia as new destination partner

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Image credit: Saint Lucia Tourism Authority

Starting in the 2026/27 season, the deal will see Saint Lucia become Arsenal‘s Official Destination Partner.

 

Global reach of a football giant

As one of the most popular clubs in the world, Arsenal’s influence expands far beyond the boundaries of North London.

And with its latest partnership, alongside the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA), the reigning Premier League champions will help to promote the Caribbean island to the UK market.

Furthermore, the agreement will see additional benefits for both parties, including the development of an Academy Hub in Saint Lucia, brand visibility at the Emirates Stadium for both Premier League and Women’s Super League games, and more.

“We are entering an exciting term as Arsenal’s Official Destination Partner, aligning with a club that has a loyal, global supporter base,” said Saint Lucia’s Minister for Tourism, Commerce, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Heritage, Dr. Ernest Hilaire via media release.

A partnership extending from one side of the Atlantic to the other, uniting communities through football.

 

Sport and culture go hand-in-hand

This isn’t the first time, however, that Saint Lucia Tourism Authority has ventured into the commercial world of global sport.

In the past, for example, the organisation built firm relationships with several other iconic outfits including the New York Yankees (baseball), Toronto Raptors (basketball), Toronto Maple Leafs (ice hockey) and Brooklyn Nets (basketball).

But with an iconic club like Arsenal the latest addition to the lost, it further proves that sport, culture and commerce are by no means seperate entities.

In fact, in a deal such as this, all three can grow and thrive.

Arsenal are one of several clubs to establish ties with tourism boards and destination groups across the world. Notable partnerships include:

  • Manchester City and Visit Abu Dhabi
  • Fulham FC and Visit Mongolia
  • Manchester United and Visit Malta

Exposure for international tourism boards at Premier League grounds holds immense economic potential, thus a key aim in the alliance between Saint Lucia and Arsenal is to drive the island’s economy through tourism.

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