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Football Victoria’s new strategic plan FootbALLways has been formed to reflect the surge in popularity for the world game in Victoria.
The rise in participation over the last year was recorded at 24% and this strategic plan will help match the needs of the growing figure – the second-highest growth market in Australia for the world game.
It will be officially launched at Football Victoria’s Annual General meeting – including the targets of 50/50 gender participation by 2027 and developing 420 new and full-size pitches across the state to capitalise on the rising numbers.
FV’s plan is centred around five pillars:
Enabling Victorian clubs to thrive while providing great experiences to ALL
Expanding and improving facilities of ALL types and providing infrastructure to increase access, utilisation and sustainability
Provide the best opportunities for ALL to access and enjoy programs, competitions and pathways
Increase engagement and advocacy of football to change perceptions and promote positive outcomes
Provide our people with continued opportunities to develop and be leaders for culture, high performance, social change
Football Victoria CEO Peter Filopoulos spoke about uniting all Australians to play the game.
“It’s clear the game in Victoria is in great shape. This new four-year strategic plan is designed to ensure that we build on this positive momentum and that, as stewards of the game in Victoria, we put in place the key initiatives that will sustain the game’s growth into the future,” he said.
“There was of course really good football on show across the age groups and great sportsmanship, which was fantastic to see.
“I think the message is getting through about how important it is to provide a positive environment for kids to play sport in. It was pleasing to see everybody there, both players and parents/supporters, had a good time.”
Navas estimates that there were well over 12,500 people attending the event across both venues over the weekend, providing a giant boost to the local Shepparton area.
“You are talking about a wide range of people who are, at a minimum, staying in the city of Shepparton or close by for two nights,” he said.
“The economic impact was massive.”
Economic activity at Shepparton Cup – Image Credit: One Nil Media
Director for Sustainable Development at Greater Shepparton City Council, Geraldine Christou, further explained the greater benefits the tournament had on the local community.
“Australia’s largest junior weekend football tournament right here in Greater Shepparton showcases the strength of our community spirit and our capacity to host major events that bring joy, talent, and visitors to our region,” she stated.
“The economic benefit of this tournament is immense with an estimated $3 to $4 million generated for the region, supporting our local businesses and creating lasting memories for thousands of young athletes and their families.
The Greater Shepparton City Council’s Parks, Sport and Recreation team played a big hand in the organisation of the tournament, which included looking after the setup of pitches to the placement of goals at the venues.
Football Victoria CEO Chris Pehlivanis, who attended the tournament over the course of the weekend, was impressed with the execution of it.
“I’m proud of the whole tournament, it was an amazing opportunity to come down here to Shepparton and see lots of boys and girls playing football and playing lots of games,” he stated at the event.
“I think most kids had six, seven, eight games which is an amazing opportunity and not only that, there was amazing organisation.
“Everyone should be extremely proud of what they have achieved here this weekend…the logistics, everything was run smoothly…the referees were great and all the parents and participants were great.”
Kids at play during the Shepparton Cup – Image Credit: One Nil Media
The Shepparton Cup has continued to grow exponentially over the years, initially starting with just 30 teams in the inaugural tournament in 2007.
This year’s edition also featured a wide range of off the field activities that contributed to a carnival like atmosphere. There was live music, on stage entertainment, food trucks, a fun zone for players and families.
Navas detailed to Soccerscene that the enormity of the event was not lost on him and is investigating ways to make the competition better in the near future.
“(The growth of the event has been) overwhelming, compared to many of the previous years. It was the biggest by far this year and there was a great positivity around it.
“The plan is to not necessarily make it bigger in the future, just to tweak it and add more to it and make it a better experience for everyone.
“I’d love to be able to attract some more international teams, we are looking at that to see how we can get some of the Asian teams to come across to the event.
“This would be fantastic, as it would show the kids here how football is played in different parts of the world. The way we look at things is ‘if I was 10- or 12-years-old what would I want this tournament be?’
“That’s what drives a lot of our thinking and ultimately our initiatives. It’s important to us because if the kids have a good experience, they’re going to become better players and better people because of it.
“We’ve also received some really good information from the feedback surveys we put out, which is very beneficial in shaping the tournament suitably in future editions.”
In the last fortnight, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) released their annual A-League Women’s report, providing an overview of the current state of the women’s game at the highest level in Australia.
The association had previously earmarked this as their number one priority in the year prior, but have now doubled down – setting a timeline for implementation by the 2026-2027 season.
The timeframe has come from extensive feedback from stakeholders within the game, with the vast majority of players agreeing that action on this front must come sooner rather than later.
The report outlined in detail the difficulties players are having with the current part-time nature of the league – with most players not on 12-month contracts, minimum wages set at $25,000 and club salary caps sitting at $600,000 per season.
The representative body also highlighted the threat to the competition based on significant progress of other women’s sporting leagues here in Australia and more importantly overseas women’s football leagues.
“The global growth of women’s football presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the A-League Women,” PFA Co-Chief Executive Kate Gill stated.
“Our players recognise that the league must embrace full-time professionalism by 2026 to remain competitive on the global stage.
“Our league and club leaders must unite behind a new vision that drives professionalism, commercial growth, and investment.”
Competitions such as the UK Women’s Super League (WSL) and the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), have continued to build their presence in the global landscape.
The WSL has had a 700% increase in attendances, since establishing themselves as a full- time professional league in 2018.
The NWSL has recently increased its salary cap by 40% to $4.1 million for the 2024 season, after securing a significant broadcast deal worth 40 times more than their previous one.
Alongside this, a new American professional league, the United Soccer League’s Super League (USLS) launched in August of this year – with plans underway to continue to expand the competition.
These developments will continue to affect the ALW’s ability to not only retain but also attract talent to the Australian competition, as player salaries and conditions continue to rise in overseas leagues.
Of the 106 foreign player transfers into the ALW since 2018, 63 were Americans. 46% of the imported players (across all nationalities) came directly from the NWSL. With professionalism and club standards continuing to reach greater heights in competitions in America, for example, the ALW may continue to fall behind and not be an attractive proposition for foreign players coming into our competition, but also for players already competing in the ALW.
According to 2023-2024 end of season surveys conducted by the association, ALW players have now rated the NWSL as the second most preferred league to play in, behind the WSL in the UK.
In the previous year, 56% of ALW players put the ALW ahead of the NWSL on their respective lists, but a year later only 41% of players did the same.
It’s a clear sign that these leagues overseas are offering superior opportunities for players, which the ALW needs to try to combat and minimise this impact immediately.
With full time professionalism in the Australian competition set as a clear goal by the PFA, the commercial viability of the league will be at the forefront of any discussions around this.
The ALW did increase their crowds organically in the past season by 72 percent (on the back of a Women’s World Cup on home soil) however the PFA believes there were still strategic missteps that could have led to even further growth.
Based on fan focus groups setup by the organisation, newly converted Matildas fans were ignorant to details about ALW teams and schedules – due to a lack of promotion to spectators who attended international matches.
With the Women’s Asian Cup also to be played in Australia in two years’ time, the same mistakes cannot be made and capitalising on these home tournaments is paramount.
The 2026 Women’s Asian Cup is set to be an important part of the PFA’s proposed professional relaunch of the A-League women’s competition, using the major tournament to enhance the leagues visibility.
Alongside this, the report claims that an improvement of the ALW’s match presentation is needed – from consistent match day experiences, to appropriate venues for games and better broadcast standards.
All of these factors should, alongside overall improvements to club environments, lead to an attractive product that may eventually reap commercial rewards in the future.
The question is however, will the next step of initial investment towards a professional full-time A-League Women’s competition be taken?
