Football NSW unveils 2025/2026 Coach Education calendar

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Football NSW Unveils 2025/2026 Coach Education Calendar
Image credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the 2025/2026 Coach Education Course Calendar which was developed in collaboration with the Member Associations to prepare coaches ahead of the 2026 season.

As part of their continued commitment to developing coaches across the state, Football NSW will be offering a wide range of coach education courses this year, including:

  • 34 C Diploma Courses
  • 10 B Diploma Courses
  • 2 Goalkeeper B Diploma Courses
  • 6 Foundations of Goalkeeping Courses
  • Over 50 Foundation of Football Courses
  • 5 JDL Certificate Courses

Additional C Diploma courses will be rolled out in partnership with their Member Associations in the coming months.

Coaches are encouraged to reach out to their local association for details on locally available Foundation of Football courses.

These offerings reflect Football NSW’s dedication to making coach education more accessible and to supporting the growth of high-quality coaching at all levels of the game.

Football NSW’s Coach Education Manager Chris Adams emphasised that making coach education accessible throughout New South Wales is essential for improving the game.

“Providing accessible coach education across all corners of New South Wales is vital to the growth and quality of our game,” Adams said in a press release.

“Whether you are in metropolitan Sydney or regional branches, every coach deserves the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills.

“I’d also like to extend a sincere thank you to our dedicated team of Coach Education Tutors, without their passion, expertise, and tireless efforts, none of this would be possible.”

Football NSW has announced that the B Diploma Course will be taken on the road in 2025/2026, with sessions planned for Wollongong, the Riverina, and the Western Branch.

These locations have been chosen to make the course more accessible and to better support coaches in regional areas of New South Wales.

Football NSW Regional Manager Andrew Fearnley said they’re thrilled to expand regional coach development by adding a second B Diploma course.

“We are excited to continue our growth of coach development in regional football through adding in a second B Diploma for the upcoming 2025/26 coach development calendar,” Fearnley said in a press release.

“This is due to our efforts and support for a strong number of C Diploma courses and participation within each branch.”

Including the Riverina Branch is a significant step in strengthening support for regional communities.

There continues to be strong interest in coaching courses across the Western and Southern Branches, with a return to Bathurst following record enrolments during the 2024–2025 season.

Expanding the availability of coaching courses is a key part of Football NSW’s efforts to implement its Benchmarking & Standards across Junior and Youth Competitions.

This ensures clubs meet the required Minimum Technical Qualifications, helping to raise the standard and consistency of coaching statewide.

With this course calendar, Football NSW reaffirms its commitment to offering clear development pathways and practical learning opportunities for coaches of all experience levels, no matter where they’re based.

More information on course dates, venues and registration details can be found HERE.

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

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Image credit: BBC

The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s influence and impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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