Football Queensland and Felton Industries team up to launch Facility Guide

Liam Watson
Football Queensland (FQ) has launched its Shelter & Grandstands Facility Guide, together with their new partner Felton Industries.

Football Queensland (FQ) has launched its Shelter & Grandstands Facility Guide, together with their new partner Felton Industries.

Felton are FQ’s Official Shelter & Grandstand partner and are the preferred supplier to the football community.

“This is the eighth guide now available on the Facilities Hub, demonstrating how FQ continues to drive progress towards the Strategic Infrastructure Plan as we support clubs across the state with meeting demand and building capacity,” FQ President Ben Richardson said. 

“In the broader 2020-2022 Strategic Plan, FQ identified the need to secure the support of partners who can help deliver on football’s infrastructure needs. 

“That is why we are pleased to welcome another great addition to the Queensland football family in Felton Industries, who have provided a range of shade and seating options suitable for all clubs in the Shelter & Grandstands Facility Guide.” 

The new partnership supports Queensland clubs with better tools to strengthen the overall football experience for their members and spectators.

“All sporting clubs in Queensland face sun safety and weather-related challenges at their venues,” FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci said. 

“FQ has addressed this through the Shelter & Grandstands Facility Guide, the newest inclusion among our suite of in-depth resources for clubs, sport and recreation consultants, and local councils. 

“Together with Felton, we are supporting our community with improved access to high-quality, infrastructure that transforms both the spectator experience and the atmosphere at matches.” 

Felton products are designed to cater for the Queensland climate, with purpose-built structures to handle cyclone ratings, withstand saltwater conditions and added portability.

“As Australia’s leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of quality outdoor furniture, we are proud to support the Queensland football community,” National Sales Manager for Felton Industries, Gus White said. 

“We have been supplying premium seating solutions for all educational, community, sporting and commercial environments across Australia for more than 20 years. This expertise is provided in the Shelter & Grandstands Facility Guide. 

“We are excited to share this knowledge with Queensland football clubs and look forward to working with them on customising our Australian-made grandstands and shelters to suit their needs.” 

Queensland clubs can obtain a $100 voucher by signing up to the Felton Industries newsletter and can purchase products under the Government’s Instant Asset Write-Off (IAWO) scheme.

You can view the Shelter & Grandstands Facility Guide here.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

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

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Image Credit: SCFC

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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