Female football in regional Western Australia is set to receive a significant boost nearly $1 million investment from the Federal Government.
Football West has secured $997,339 through the Federal Government’s Play Our Way program, aimed at breaking down barriers for women and girls in sports and physical activities.
The Australian Government is providing $200 million for the Play Our Way program and this set of funding is the first of many for state football federations.
The program will run over 3 years from 2024–25 to 2026–27 with the money spread out to help provide safe, inclusive, quality and sustainable facilities, equipment and initiatives as well as help women and girls to remain involved in sport and physical activity for life.
The grant will fund Football West’s Our Game WA initiative, which focuses on two main components:
Leading Our Game: A new coaching course exclusively for women.
Growing Our Game: A series of initiatives designed to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women and girls in football.
Football West Manager – Female Football & Advocacy Tash Rigby expressed her excitement at the positive news for women’s players in WA.
“This is incredible news and we can do so much good for female football with this kind of investment,” she said via press release.
“Interest in female football right across the state is at an all-time high. We want to make it as easy as possible for women and girls to participate in our game and fulfil their potential, be it as players, coaches, match officials, and in any other capacity.
“It is extra special that the money will be invested in regional WA. Regional football is close to my heart – I am from Margaret River and know the passion around the state for football.”
Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell extended on Rigby’s points by discussing the importance of this deal for regional women’s football.
“We are delighted to have been successful in our application and thank the Australian Government for supporting our proposal,” Harnwell said via press release.
“Our commitment to female football over the past decade is well documented and this grant will enable us to give more girls and women the opportunity to develop a love for the game.
“Regional football caters for around a quarter of our registrations and so it is great to invest funding of this kind across the State.
“We are currently hosting the 2024 Country Week carnival at Kingsway Reserve, which is our biggest celebration of regional football, so the timing of this announcement could not be better.”
This is fantastic news especially for regional football in general which is often neglected but remains one of the key factors in WA’s strong participation numbers in 2024.
Football West is creating a space that can help girls and women play in a safe, inclusive environment in an extremely inspiring time for women’s football in Australia.
More information on the Play Our Way Grant Opportunity can be found here.
