Football Victoria Community Awards 2019 nominations now open

Staff Writer

Football Victoria is made possible because of the thousands of volunteers, administrators, coaches, referees and clubs that each have inspirational individuals who dedicate their time to the sport.

A statement from the Football Victoria can be found here:

The Football Victoria Community Awards 2019 provide us with an opportunity to shine a light on these community heroes for all the work they do. It is their contribution that bring football fans and players even closer to the game. We are excited to share these celebrations with you all again. The awards recognise those in our football community who embrace diversity and champion inclusive practices at all levels,” said Football Victoria CEO Peter Filopoulos.

WHY NOMINATE

  • Increase public awareness of your volunteers, club and programs
  • Be recognised as an outstanding leader in community football
  • Share your success story with the rest of the Victorian Football community
  • Winners and their guest will be invited to the Community in Business celebration on Friday 25 October at Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields

There are seven categories for the awards including:

Metropolitan Club of the Year

This award recognises a community metropolitan football club that exemplifies the vision as a sport for all Victorians. They actively create welcoming and inclusive environments through good governance, dedicated volunteers and are committed to engaging with people from all walks of life.

Nominations for this category are sought from football clubs across metropolitan Melbourne.

Nominate here

 

Regional Club of the Year

This award recognises a regional football club that exemplifies the vision as a sport for all Victorians. They actively create welcoming and inclusive environments through good governance, dedicated volunteers and are committed to engaging with people from all walks of life.

Nominations for this category are sought from football clubs across rural and regional Victoria.

Nominate here

 

ALDI MiniRoos Kick-Off Site of the Year

This award acknowledges outstanding delivery of the ALDI MiniRoos Kick-Off program, that gives juniors the best possible entry into football providing a fun, safe and inclusive experience for all participants.

We encourage nominations from all our ALDI MiniRoos Kick-Off sites.

Nominate here

 

Partner Organisation of the Year

This award recognises a stakeholder that has provided significant support to ensure all Victorians, no matter their gender or background, have the chance to get involved in football.

Futsal sport centres, local government, schools, community organisations and delivery partners are encouraged to nominate.

Nominate here

 

Volunteer of the Year

This award celebrates a member of the football community who has made an exceptional contribution to improving the game and supporting others to become actively involved in football.

We welcome nominations from all forms of football including clubs, futsal, NPL and Walking football.

Nominate here

 

Community Female Coach of the Year

This award goes to a female coach who has gone out of their way to make sure that participants are supported to develop both their skills and a lifelong love of football.

We encourage nominations from all formats of the game, junior and senior, male and female competitions, ALDI MiniRoos, Futsal and representative teams.

Nominate here

 

Community Male Coach of the Year

This award goes to a male coach who has gone out of their way to make sure that participants are supported to develop both their skills and a lifelong love of football.

We encourage nominations from all formats of the game, junior and senior, male and female competitions, ALDI MiniRoos, Futsal and representative teams.

Nominate here

 

 

We encourage everyone involved in football to consider nominating someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the game and inspired, motivated or supported others over the past year.

It’s a fantastic way to say thank you.

Eligibility

Entries are invited from individuals, clubs, competitions, stakeholders and partner organisations who contribute to the delivery of football in Victoria. We want to recognise and reward all the amazing work taking place across the state including the desire to embrace diversity and make football a sport for all Australians.

Click here to see nomination eligibility, assessment criteria and other important details

Key Dates
Nominations Open Friday 30 August 2019
Nominations Close Tuesday 24 September 2019
Nominations shortlisted Friday 27 September 2019
Independent Judges assess and Winners Thursday 4 October 2019
Winners notified Tuesday 8 October 2019
Awards Presentation / CIB Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields Friday 25 October 2019
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Capital Football Introduces Pink Armband to Protect Junior Referees

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Image Credit: Marist Canberra FC

Capital Football has launched a visible identification program for referees under 18, requiring them to wear a pink armband during matches. It’s intended to build awareness surrounding the concern across Australian football about the abuse driving young officials out of the game.

The Pink Armband Initiative, effective immediately across Capital Football’s competitions in the ACT and surrounding region, makes junior referees identifiable to players, coaches and spectators. The federation says the marker is designed to set clear behavioural expectations and signal that many match officials are minors still developing their skills.

Capital Football acknowledged a referee crisis as far back as 2022, at which point it restructured its entire referee department in partnership with Football Australia. The pink armband program is the latest layer of that response; this time by targeting the cultural conditions on match day rather than systems of recruitment and pay.

A problem that spans codes and states

Research has consistently linked referee abuse to declining retention rates, with officials quitting in growing numbers due to sustained mistreatment, a trend researchers warn will reduce the pool of skilled match officials available at all levels of the game. Studies also show that young, less experienced referees are disproportionately likely to be subject to abuse.

Capital Football is not alone in reaching for a visible solution. Similar programs operate across Football Queensland, Football South Australia, Football South Coast and several other federations, while Basketball Victoria and Basketball South Australia have adopted comparable measures through the Green Whistle initiative. The spread of these programs across codes and states reflects a shared administrative problem: many grassroots referees are teenagers and volunteers who do not officiate for money but because they love the game, and abuse is eroding that foundation.

For a federation overseeing nearly 29,000 registered players, fewer referees means fewer matches. Fewer matches means reduced participation. The pink armband is a low-cost intervention with structural consequences if it works.

Football Victoria Backs Campaign to Shield Junior Players from Gambling Harm

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More than 600 sporting clubs across Victoria have enrolled in a state government program designed to limit young players’ exposure to gambling, with Football Victoria now urging its community clubs to join before a late-July registration deadline.

The Love the Game initiative asks clubs to formally commit to a set of principles: refusing sports betting sponsorships, developing internal harm prevention policies, and building environments where coaches, parents and players are equipped to discuss gambling risks with children.

The program’s public health rationale has a sharper statistical edge than its community-facing materials suggest. A 2025 study of Victorian secondary school students aged 12 to 17 found that nearly 30% had gambled at some point, and among those who had gambled in the past year, 7.5% met the criteria for problem-gambling and a further 26.8% were classified as ‘at-risk’. The research, commissioned by the state government and published earlier this year, also found that students exposed to gambling venues and advertising were more likely to gamble or to do so in a risky manner.

The most recent Victorian Population Gambling Study found that Victorians aged 18 to 24 are the group least likely to gamble overall, yet carry the highest rates of harmful gambling across all age groups. Young people aged 18 to 34 are around five times more likely to bet on sports than older cohorts.

When the data lands at the clubhouse door

Football Victoria’s support for the program reflects a broader recognition within community sport that participation rates and club culture are connected. The environments clubs create shape whether young people stay in sport and what norms they carry with them into adulthood. For football specifically, which draws participants across a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, that responsibility is not evenly distributed. Approximately 440,000 Victorians, or 8.5 per cent of the state’s population, are classified as being at some risk of experiencing problem gambling.

The Victorian Government’s program gives clubs more than symbolic membership. Registered clubs receive practical tools to develop governance frameworks around gambling harm, resources for coaching staff and volunteers, and standing as part of a growing network of clubs taking a formal position on the issue.

Researchers have described the current framing of gambling harm as a matter of personal responsibility as inadequate, arguing it is a public health issue requiring a systemic response. Community football clubs, with their reach into households across the state, are one of the institutional levers available to make that response visible.

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