Football Queensland encourages clubs to build on World Cup hype

Staff Writer
Women's World Cup
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Football Queensland is running a bold ‘100 Programs’ initiative in conjunction with the Be23Ready campaign to encourage women and girls to get involved in the game, leading up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

Be2Ready is an ongoing campaign that anticipates the participation boom that the tournament will create, allowing clubs to be prepared for an influx of people looking to join a team.

It’s not only welcoming newcomers, but retaining talent who can enjoy the sport for what it is.

Football Queensland CEO, Robert Cavallucci said via press release:

“FQ’s aim is to deliver 100 women and girls’ programs and initiatives to coincide with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 ‘100 Days to Go milestone’,” he stated.

“100 Programs is an ambitious target and showcases Football Queensland’s commitment to reaching the national 50/50 gender parity target by 2027, providing opportunities for our growing women and girl participation base to develop their playing, coaching and refereeing abilities.” 

Football Queensland Senior Manager – Game Development, Kate Lawson, added that she is excited to see the appointed community Be23Ready Women and Girls Ambassadors in action as they look to be key drivers of club’s programs and courses. 

“Participating clubs can contribute any female-focused activation to the 100 Programs such as, come and try days, social events, Girls United introductory programs, or female-only coaching and referee courses within their community to not only create opportunities for female participation but build the excitement for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023,” Lawson said via press release. 

“The Be23Ready campaign was implemented to equip Queensland clubs with the tools to build more welcoming and inclusive environments for female participants; the 100 Programs initiative is a great opportunity for clubs to showcase this by finding ways to broaden their product offering to accommodate new and returning women and girls to the game.” 

Clubs are encouraged to join Football Queensland in sharing their photos from successful programs and activations on social media using the hashtags #Be23Ready and #100Programs.  

All participating clubs hosting any come and try days, carnivals or similar activations should submit their club and event information via the Football Queensland Sanction Request Form. 

Any club that completes all three actions of posting event photos with the relevant hashtags, filling out the sanction request form (if required) and completing the post event 100 Women and Girls Initatives Reporting and Feedback Form, will go into the draw to win a 2018 signed Matildas jersey.  

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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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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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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