Fox Sports staff cuts reinforce football is not a high priority

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On Wednesday, Foxtel announced a host of cuts to its Fox Sports News division.

Of the expected 20 or so staff to lose their jobs, football reporters Daniel Garb and Carly Adno have confirmed their departures from the company.

Head of Fox Sports, Peter Campbell, told staff in a letter that the decision was based on a thorough review.

“Following a careful and considered review, we have today announced some changes to the programming of FOX SPORTS News which reduces the number of live news hours through the middle of weekdays and which unfortunately have resulted in a number of redundancies within the Australian News Channel (ANC) team that delivers FOX SPORTS News.

“Our customer audience analysis shows viewing of FOX SPORTS News now peaks in the morning and evening and on weekends, with low daytime viewership. Therefore we are going to focus on delivering live sports news and the channel’s marquee programs, including AFL Tonight, NRL Tonight and Cricket AM, during those peak periods.

“This decision is not about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on sport. It simply reflects viewers are consuming sports news in different ways and at different times together with the same challenging conditions in the advertising market that are impacting the entire entertainment industry.”

The company wants to focus their energy on morning sports bulletins and evening shows, which will also perform better on their on-demand streaming service Kayo Sports.

Campbell’s comments reiterate the idea that the AFL, NRL and Cricket are their marquee offerings, therefore it is in their best interests to improve their associated programming for these sports.

On the football side of things, the axing of Garb and Adno is a huge blow to the sport’s presence on the Fox Sports network.

Garb, in particular, has been a prominent footballing voice on Fox Sports News as well as the host of the weekly Fox Football Podcast.

The podcast itself has become more important in recent times, due to the lack of magazine shows on Fox Sports for the A-League.

Magazine shows such as Sunday Shootout and Just for Kicks were all axed by Fox in recent years.

The job cuts come after the news the A-League will play on and try to finish the season, even though there are concerns around the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there is a possibility Fox Sports will look to get out of the TV deal they signed with the A-League in late 2016, if the competition was abandoned this season.

If the A-League fails to meet its obligations this season, it could give Fox Sports the opportunity to move its way out of a deal they are currently unhappy with due to the leagues declining ratings.

A-League decision makers plan to condense the season into a shorter timeframe, with the hope of finishing by mid-April.

PFA CEO John Didiluca told SMH: “As it stands now we have no certainty about what Fox will do in the event of the league having to be shut down – whether they choose to withhold funding or terminate the agreement.”

“All of these things are options and we just don’t have an answer about what that will be.

“The players are showing their commitment and good faith by putting their hands up and continuing to play. The nature of their choice is awful, effectively having to weigh up risks to their personal and public health on one hand with the knowledge the football economy could collapse on the other.

“Fox have helped us build our competitions from day one and we now need them stick with us more than ever. We are urging them to match the resilience and commitment that the players and the clubs are showing. This will give everybody within the football community some measure of certainty that the sport has a strong future.”

Although Fox may not be satisfied with their current deal with the A-League, outside of the NRL and AFL there is not a whole of sport to broadcast at the moment.

The A-League would have received pressure from Fox to continue the season, even though there is uncertainty Fox will continue broadcasting the competition in the future.

Fox seems to be using the A-League to boost its current lack of sport offerings on Kayo Sports, despite recently sacking one of its most influential voices.

Football is not a priority for the company at this stage, but rather a pawn they can easily influence in these uncertain times.

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1200 players to descend on Geelong for Football Victoria Country Championships as Regional Football Enters New Era

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Image Credit: Football Victoria

More than 1,200 junior footballers from across regional Victoria will converge on Geelong this weekend for the 2026 Football Victoria Country Championships, with players representing eight regions competing across the King’s Birthday long weekend at Stead Park and Myers Reserve.

The tournament, which has been running since 1978 and has grown into one of the largest junior football events in the country, takes on additional significance this year. It marks the first Country Championships since Football Victoria announced a restructured regional football model in December 2025, making this edition an early measure of how that new framework translates into competitive outcomes at the representative level.

Sixty-seven teams will compete across Under-11 to Under-16 age groups for both boys and girls, with finals day scheduled for Monday. All fixtures and results will be available through the DRIBL app.

More than silverware

FV Regional Development Manager Lauren Stevens said the tournament represented something beyond the competitive results it produces.

“The Country Championships are an exciting opportunity for players from across regional Victoria to come together, represent their region and create lasting memories both on and off the pitch,” Stevens said. “This tournament has a rich history and continues to play an important role in bringing regional football communities together while providing players with the chance to experience a high-level representative environment and talent identification opportunity.”

That dual function is central to what makes the Country Championships structurally significant. For many players travelling to Geelong this weekend, a regional representative tournament is the highest level of football they have experienced. For some, it will be the environment in which they first come to the attention of Football Victoria’s technical staff and pathway programs.

The talent identification dimension carries particular weight at a moment when Football Victoria’s participation numbers are at record levels and the pipeline from community football to elite competition has never been more closely scrutinised. The 2025 Annual Report documented a 14 percent overall participation increase, with junior football among the fastest-growing segments. Tournaments like the Country Championships are where that growth begins to translate into representative opportunity for players who live outside metropolitan Melbourne.

Regional football in transition

The timing of this year’s Championships against the backdrop of Football Victoria’s regional restructure adds a layer of context that will be watched closely by administrators and clubs. The December 2025 announcement of the new regional model represented the most significant structural change to regional football governance in the state in some years, and the process of transitioning Life Members from regional associations into the Football Victoria honour roll at last month’s AGM reflected the scale of that change.

How the eight regions perform this weekend will offer an early indication of whether the restructured model is serving regional communities effectively.

The Corrie Koppen Fair Play Award, introduced last year to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Cornelius Koppen, adds a dimension to the competition that sits alongside the on-field results. The award is given to the region judged to have played and conducted itself in the spirit of the game, a recognition that how communities behave at a junior tournament is as meaningful as what they win.

Football West and Cook Government extend $960,000 mental health partnership through to 2027

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football West will host its fourth annual Think Mental Health Round across all leagues and competitions on 25-26 July, backed by a renewed state government commitment worth $960,000 to support mental health and wellbeing programs in Western Australian football.

The Cook Government has extended its Healthway partnership with WA Football until 2027, with funding directed toward initiatives including Talk to a Mate BBQs, mental health education and training across both men’s and women’s competitions.

The round, run in partnership with Healthway’s Think Mental Health campaign, invites clubs to participate through events, signage, social media messaging and facilitated wellbeing sessions. Football West is also organising a series of mental health and wellbeing sessions for clubs in partnership with A Stitch in Time, with details to be confirmed. The partnership also supports an expansion of the Footy Fundamentals program, which targets fundamental movement skills in early childhood.

A Fixture in the Football Calendar

Think Mental Health Rounds have featured in the WA football calendar since 2022, following an earlier rollout in country competitions. This year’s metropolitan round aligns with Round 11 of the West Australian Football League and Round 12 of the West Australian Football League Women’s, placing mental health messaging at the centre of both competitions simultaneously.

For club administrators, the round offers a low-barrier activation opportunity. Clubs can register and access resources through Football West’s online portal, with options ranging from hosting a BBQ to completing the True Sport eLearning module on mental health and wellbeing awareness.

Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti said the partnership reflected the reach of football across Western Australian life.

“So many Western Australians have links to local football, whether they play, volunteer or support from the sideline, so this is a fantastic partnership and great way to generate awareness about this important issue,” Saffioti said.

Mental Health Minister Meredith Hammat said football clubs were well-positioned to shift the conversation around seeking support.

“WA Football’s upcoming Think Mental Health Rounds serve as a reminder of how important it is to check in and support one another, and make sure no one faces their struggles alone,” Hammat said.

Preventative Health Minister Sabine Winton said the government’s goal was to build capacity at club level.

“Through Healthway’s partnership with WA Football, we are equipping clubs with the tools and knowledge to champion mental health and wellbeing, build resilience and create stronger communities,” Winton said.

Just an awareness campaign?

Beyond the health outcomes, rounds like this carry practical significance for the football ecosystem. Clubs that foster psychologically safe environments tend to retain players and volunteers at higher rates, a factor that matters in a state where grassroots football competes for participants across a crowded sporting landscape.

Volunteer burnout and player dropout are persistent pressure points for football administrators across Australia. Programming that addresses mental health at club level, rather than directing participants elsewhere, positions clubs as genuine support structures within their local areas. That reputation has tangible effects on registration numbers, family engagement and the willingness of people to take on coaching and administrative roles.

The $960,000 commitment across two years also signals that the state government views football infrastructure as more than turf and floodlights. Embedding health initiatives within the competition calendar gives federations and clubs a degree of programming certainty, reducing the reliance on ad hoc grant applications to fund welfare activities.

For Football West, the extension means mental health support sits within a funded, multi-year framework through the back half of the decade, rather than being renegotiated season by season. In a state as geographically dispersed as Western Australia, where clubs in regional areas often operate with limited resources, that continuity carries weight beyond the metropolitan competitions it most visibly supports.

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