Football West Facility Report highlights crucial need for investment

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Image credit: Football West LinkedIn

Football West has unveiled its second State Facility Report, highlighting significant infrastructure challenges across Western Australian football venues.

The comprehensive audit, conducted over the past 12 months, reveals pressing needs for facility improvements amid record growth in participation.

The timing is crucial, with football experiencing unprecedented popularity following the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Official data confirms football as Australia’s leading team sport, with Western Australia seeing a 17% overall participation increase and an impressive 30% rise in female participation in 2024.

Key Findings:

  • 58% of facilities lack female-friendly changerooms
  • 52% are without female-friendly match official rooms
  • 54% have inadequate shower facilities
  • 27% have no lighting
  • 44% have substandard lighting

Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell emphasises the key findings of the report and reiterates the necessity of investment in facilities.

“The importance of having adequate facilities for our community is crucial to supporting the development and growth of football and providing a good environment for our participants,” he said via press release.

“The huge health, social and economic benefits from people playing sport are well documented and football in WA plays a big role in this.”

The report aligns with both Football West’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026 and Football Australia’s One Football Strategy, underlining the urgent need for investment in football infrastructure.

Despite some recent facility upgrades, the audit indicates substantial additional investment is required to meet the growing demands of the sport.

This report points out that key infrastructure plans are funded primarily by government grants and investment support.

An area for private investment is possible but the development needed calls for more action from the government bodies for sport.

This initiative demonstrates Football West’s ongoing commitment to improving football facilities across the state, ensuring they meet the needs of the rapidly expanding football community.

Football’s rise to Australia’s most-played sport is a very exciting opportunity and the rise in participation is a welcoming statistic.

Football West is speaking out with other football communities expressing that we shouldn’t let the significant growth in the sport become a more pressing challenge than what is in truth, a really exciting opportunity.

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Football NSW calls on clubs to Make It Red for Heart Health Round

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Football NSW is calling on clubs and associations across the state to register for the 2026 Make It Red campaign, joining a national awareness movement aimed at reducing heart-related deaths on sporting grounds ahead of Heart Health Round on the weekend of June 5 to 7.

The campaign, developed by the Heartbeat of Football Foundation, asks sporting clubs to wear red, raise funds and build awareness around heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest, which is the leading single cause of disease burden and death in Australia for both men and women, and one that health authorities say is largely preventable through modifiable risk factors.

The call to action comes as the Foundation continues its work to map and register Automated External Defibrillators across NSW sporting facilities, a project that has already engaged twelve football associations and fed data into both the NSW Ambulance GoodSAM registry and NSW Health’s public AED map. The availability of a functioning, registered AED on site is among the most significant determinants of survival following sudden cardiac arrest, with survival rates declining sharply for every minute without defibrillation.

Football NSW is encouraging clubs to engage with the campaign across three areas. Clubs can register for the Make It Red campaign to help fund research, education and prevention programs. Participants, particularly those aged over 35, are encouraged to seek a free heart health screening test from their local GP or enquire about hosting a Heartbeat of Football testing day. Clubs are also urged to ensure their grounds have active, accessible AEDs in place, with guidance available through Football NSW’s Rescue Ready Guide.

The Make It Red campaign runs from June 5 to July 12, with Heart Health Round taking place across the opening weekend. Clubs can register and access participation resources at makeitred.org.

Community Spirit Shines on AFC Grassroots Football Day 2026

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Image credit: Football Australia

This week, Football Australia (FA) celebrated AFC Grassroots Football Day 2026, championing the people and communities who continue to hold up a safe, inclusive and supportive environment in the football landscape.

‘For all, for life’

In collaboration with Football NSW, Canterbury Football Association and community club, Balmain & District Football Club, the day reflected the very best of what football provides.

The event brought in participants of all ages – from 4-74 years-old – and reached a total of 400 people. Girls-only programs, all-abilities sessions and over-age football ensured all were catered for.

Such a diverse range of participants builds on a wider drive during FIFA World Football Week, which seeks to promote the sport not just as the dazzling lights of 100,000-seater stadiums, but as a way to foster community spirit and social development.

Furthermore, FA support through its Club Changer program was a welcome addition to the action, emphasising the organisation’s commitment to nurture a real love for the game across communities in Australia.

“Through Club Changer we support our clubs to provide a safe, fun and enjoyable environment where everyone is welcome; whether that be as a player, volunteer, referee or supporter,” explained National Program Manager Club Development at FA, Grace Lambourne.

“Everyone should feel they belong and are welcome to play, stay, and love the game.”

 

A welcome celebration

While the upcoming FIFA World Cup will no doubt inspire millions of future Socceroos and Matildas, events like the AFC Grassroots Football Day represent something beyond just inspiration.

It is a platform. An opportunity to express a love for football and to connect with others while doing so.

And connections between the professional and grassroots game is more important than ever if Australia is to nurture the next generation of talent.

This is particularly clear in the rise of women’s football across the nation. Since the FIFA Women’s World Cup, female participation rose by 32%, and registrations for the MiniTillies Program skyrocketed from 264 in 2023, to 1223 in 2024.

The professionals spark passion. But communities turn that passion into playing time.

That is why celebrating grassroots football – and the volunteers and families who sustain it – is a vital part of Australia’s football future. Together, FA and the AFC are creating strong foundations built on positivity, engagement, and inclusivity for all with a love for the beautiful game.

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