Football Australia and Commonwealth Bank begin partnership to grow women’s football

Football Australia have today announced the start of a game-changing partnership with Commonwealth Bank.

Originally announced in April this year, today’s newly formed partnership will see Commonwealth Bank become one of the largest investors in Australian women’s football.

Millions of dollars are set to be injected into the elite women’s game and grassroots initiatives across the country over the next four years.

The bank will become the official partner and bank of the Commonwealth Bank Matildas, Commonwealth Bank Young Matildas, Commonwealth Bank Junior Matildas, Socceroos and more.

In addition, the partnership supports Football Australia’s 15-year vision and strategic agenda to increase women’s and girls’ participation in the sport that was pledged in the Legacy ’23 plan.

Monique Macleod, Commonwealth Bank Group Executive of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, acknowledged the significance of such a landmark moment for CBA and Australian football.

“This is an exciting time for women’s football; the Matildas recent performance on the world stage is showing young Australian women and girls they can achieve great things. We are ready to play our part in strengthening the game at all levels as we head towards 2023 and beyond,” she said.

“We are delighted to partner with Football Australia in supporting the Commonwealth Bank Matildas in their quest for glory on the world stage, and the future growth and development of the game across all levels.”

Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson added: “Our partnership with Commonwealth Bank represents a clear and strong alignment of values between our two organisations. It is also a significant endorsement of our vision for Australian football and our strategic priority to anchor the growth of the game in women’s football.

“We are already seeing Commonwealth Bank’s commitment to helping Football Australia provide opportunities for all Australians to play football, and to further strengthen the Commonwealth Bank Matildas’ position as an iconic brand, by helping us to reach more Australians than ever before.

“In recent weeks we’ve seen the Commonwealth Bank Matildas set the record for the largest audience for a women’s team sport in Australian TV history, with an average television audience of 1.87 million tuning in to watch Australia and Sweden in Tokyo. This is a sign of how this team is capturing the hearts and minds of Australians everywhere and with Commonwealth Bank’s support, we believe this team will continue to grow and reach new heights over the coming years.

“Commonwealth Bank’s support for the Socceroos also comes at a time when the team has reached its highest FIFA ranking since 2011, and readies itself for the next phase of the Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar with upcoming matches against China and Vietnam in the September Men’s International Match Calendar window.”

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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

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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