Football Australia unveils major deal with Subway

Football Australia

Football Australia has today revealed that Subway is the naming rights partner of the National Senior Men’s Football Team, the Socceroos.

The partnership lasts for three years and in turn is the largest ever national team sponsorship deal in Australian football history. As the world’s largest sandwich chain – with more than 37,000 locations globally – Subway now holds the naming rights for not only the Socceroos, but also the Olyroos, Young Socceroos, and Joeys.

Additionally, Subway becomes an Official Partner of the CommBank Matildas and the Australia Cup – the largest knock-out competition in Australia with over 700 teams from all corners of the country entering each year. Subway will have exclusive category rights for the Socceroos, CommBank Matildas, men’s and women’s youth national teams, and the Australia Cup.

The Subway brand and logo will also be showcased across all apparel such as game day and training, plus any promotional or marketing campaigns including mascots.

Upon announcing the new partnership with Subway, Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson said in a statement:

“We are thrilled to welcome Subway as the naming rights partner of the now, Subway Socceroos and our men’s national youth teams for the next three years. We are also pleased to see Subway join as a partner of the Australia Cup, as we approach a history making Australia Cup Final on 1 October at CommBank Stadium in Sydney.”

“Subway joins us at a time of unprecedented interest and growth in Australian football. The team at Football Australia has worked tirelessly to strategically position our iconic national teams in an increasingly competitive market and this record-breaking partnership, which follows a series of other commercial announcements over the past two years, demonstrates how deeply the Subway Socceroos and CommBank Matildas resonate with the Australian public. It also continues our efforts to work with brands which align with our own values and as the top-ranked company on YouGov’s Dining and Quality Rating Standards, we are delighted to be working with another high performing team.

“The Subway partnership announcement is highlighted by the Centenary celebrations of the Subway Socceroos, as they build towards a sixth FIFA World CupTM appearance later this year and coincides with the team’s Farewell match against New Zealand in Brisbane.

“To add further to our Centenary celebrations, we have recently partnered with the Royal Australian Mint to launch a limited edition 2022 Socceroos Centenary $2 Coin, and Australia Post which has released two new stamps commemorating 100 years of the Australian men’s national football team.

“We are delighted that together with Subway, we can write the next chapter of Australian football and we welcome them to the Football Australia family.”

Subway Country Director for Australia and New Zealand, Shane Bracken, is excited by the opportunities ahead and acknowledged the similarities and values that Subway and Football Australia shared.

“This is a partnership of two iconic brands and binds together a sandwich chain enjoyed by millions worldwide and a sport that millions play, participate in and support across the globe,” Bracken added via press release.

“Subway is proud to be partnering with Football Australia at such an exciting time for the game – not only across the national men’s and women’s teams, but as junior players move through the ranks and become our next line of role models and heroes.

“Our Aussie football stars have a huge few years ahead of them and Subway is looking forward to being part of the journey and helping make the game of football even bigger than it is right now.

“From one green and gold team to another – we’ll be cheering from the sidelines and across our stores.”

The official partnership launch will take place at the Socceroos Centenary and Farewell match against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane tonight (kick-off at 8pm AEST).

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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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