Football Australia welcomes Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as a Legacy ’23 Ambassador

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Annastacia Palaszczuk
Image provided by Football Australia

Football Australia has announced the addition of Queensland Premier The Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP as a Legacy ’23 Ambassador.

As a proud Queenslander, Palaszczuk is excited to use her voice to advocate for the advancement of football in her state and support Legacy ’23 to inspire and develop more women and girls in leadership roles. The Premier is committed to creating an equal playing field for all, both on and off the field.

Touching on her new role, the Premier said in a statement:

“I’m excited to be joining such a wonderful group of Ambassadors as part of Football Australia’s Legacy ’23 program. As a woman in politics, I’ve faced many challenges to get where I am today, and I hope that in this role I can inspire young women and girls to follow their ambitions to achieve greatness in whatever field they choose.

“The CommBank Matildas are an incredible example of how hard work and persistence can help shift the needle in sport to where women’s sport is now embraced within our society. I hope the important milestone of having the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023TM in our own backyard will set an even greater standard, putting women front and centre,” concluded Palaszczuk.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson said via Football Australia about of the new appointment:

“We are proud to welcome Ms Palaszczuk to our incredible line-up of Legacy ’23 Ambassadors. It is so important to Football Australia to have the support of leaders like Premier Palaszczuk representing and advocating for our game as we countdown to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

“As exciting as it is to be co-hosting the world’s largest women’s sporting event, the honour has always represented more than the tournament itself. Football Australia’s Legacy ’23 Plan provides a platform for the sport to leverage this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a meaningful legacy for football, the community and the nation, well after the event has been successfully delivered.

“The addition of Premier Palaszczuk gives our Legacy ’23 efforts in Queensland great impetus, and we are delighted to have her join our team. The final 11 months in the lead up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM are crucial to our game as we strive towards leaving an impactful and everlasting legacy for the sport.”

Previously announced ambassadors making up the Final XI include:

  • The Hon. Julie Bishop, Chancellor of Australian National University
  • Julie Dolan AM, Matildas cap #1
  • Azmeena Hussain OAM, Director Football Victoria and social justice advocate
  • Narelda Jacobs, NIAG Member and Network 10 Presenter
  • Kate Jenkins, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner
  • Awer Mabil, Socceroo
  • Kurt Fearnley AO, Paralympic champion
  • Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director of Tourism Australia
  • Elizabeth Broderick AO, Special Rapporteur and Independent Expert to the United Nations

The Legacy ’23 Plan, developed by Football Australia, will ensure Australia can realise the long-term benefits of hosting this prestigious global sporting event can have on every community across the country. From economic, social, physical, and mental health benefits to its promotion of social cohesion and multicultural inclusion, Legacy ’23 will introduce new and expand existing programs to ensure the future of football in Australia is stronger than ever before.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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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.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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