Football Queensland introduce sweeping changes to NPLW

Staff Writer

Football Queensland introduce sweeping changes to NPLW making available up to three new National Premier Leagues Women’s (NPLW) Queensland licences for the coming 2020.

A statement from the FFA can be found here:

Football Queensland (FQ) can confirm it will make available up to three new National Premier Leagues Women’s (NPLW) Queensland licences for the coming 2020 season as part of an ongoing and comprehensive review into football competitions.

The issuing of up to three additional NPLW licences will offer an exciting opportunity for clubs that have been focusing on the women’s game and who now believe they can support the elite pathway and the growth and development of the women’s game across Queensland.

Coupled with the intended expansion of the NPLW to 16 teams, the 2020 season will see the formation of two competitions comprised of eight clubs in each.

Designed to deliver improved competitiveness across the NPLW, the allocation of clubs across the two competitions will occur initially through a process that is currently under review and will be finalised by a working group of stakeholders from across the NPL and NPLW competitions.

Each potential licensee will be required to field teams in the following age categories: Senior Women, Under 18, Under 15 and Under 13.

As part of the review, FQ has introduced additional criteria which will be fundamental to the issuing of any new licences. ‘For the Good of the Girls Game’ requires clubs to address important requirements that significantly contribute to the improved success of the women’s game.

Clubs that can demonstrate how they will lift the standard of the NPLW competition and can provide pathway opportunities for women and girls to enter the elite system in a sustainable way must also meet the following criteria:

  • The club must provide a comprehensive and documented ‘Women’s Football Strategy’ outlining how they intend to meet the objectives of the assessment criteria
  • The club must demonstrate its capacity on how it currently or intends to provide dedicated female friendly/compliant facilities to accommodate women and girls
  • The club must demonstrate how it is delivering dedicated female football programs that lift the technical standard and quality of women’s football

Clubs interested in applying can email NPLLicencing@footballqueensland.com.au to obtain the information and application pack.

Applications will be accepted until close of business on Friday, 20 September 2019.

Source: Football Queensland

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Eastern Suburbs Football Association Announces First All-Female Referee Course and Expanded Women’s Competition

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Image Credit: Football NSW

The Eastern Suburbs Football Association has opened its 2026 season with three structural investments that reflect the growing ambition of community football associations to address participation, representation and development gaps simultaneously, beginning with the delivery of its first all-female Football Match Official Course.

The course, held at Matraville Sports High School and led by female liaison committee member Michelle Hilton and 2025 Referee of the Year Ariella Richards, brought 25 new female referees into the association ahead of Round 1. The initiative targets one of the most persistent imbalances in community sport, with women remaining significantly underrepresented in officiating roles at every level of the game, by creating a dedicated entry point separate from the mixed course environment that many women find unwelcoming.

The Women’s Premier League has also expanded, now featuring eleven teams and introducing a WPL1 and WPL2 structure following the first ten rounds of the season. The tiered format creates more competition opportunities for clubs across the region while providing a clearer development pathway for teams at different stages of growth. Returning clubs Randwick City, Glebe Wanderers, Easts FC and Sydney University join established sides in what the association describes as one of its most competitive women’s seasons. ESFA clubs have continued to perform strongly in state-wide competitions including the Football NSW Sapphire Cup, State Cup and Champion of Champions.

Building the next generation

The season opened with an inaugural Development League Gala Day for Under-9 to Under-12 boys and girls, bringing eight clubs together in a structured development environment ahead of Round 1. Sydney FC A-League Women’s players attended the event and engaged directly with young participants, a deliberate effort to connect grassroots players with visible examples of where the pathway leads.

“We are committed to creating more opportunities for clubs, players, coaches and referees to thrive, with a strong focus on participation opportunities to suit participants of all abilities and aspirations,” said ESFA CEO John Boulous.

The three initiatives, a new referee entry point for women, an expanded women’s competition structure, and a development-focused junior gala day with elite role models present, together reflect an association responding to the participation pressures the AFC Women’s Asian Cup has brought into sharp relief across Australian football.

More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

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