Golden Plains to receive additional $465,000 grant for facilities upgrade

The Golden Plains Shire Council will receive an additional $465,535 from the State Government to develop its football facilities at the Bannockburn Recreation Reserve.

The grant is part of The World Game Facilities Fund and will add to the Federal Government’s $832,000 commitment, meaning the overall funding for the project will reach in excess of $1.29 million.

The Golden Plains Soccer Club will be the beneficiaries of the funding, which will be used to construct two new female friendly change rooms, a referee’s change room, first aid room, 100 lux sports pitch lights, perimeter fencing, and storage services for the recently constructed second soccer pitch at the venue.

Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney, made the announcement and highlighted the importance of modernising facilities to cater for rising demand.

“Football is booming in Victoria and we’re expecting growing numbers of boys and girls, men and women to sign up to play at local clubs, however many clubs are struggling with inadequate facilities,” Tierney said.

The Golden Plains Soccer Club is located 23km from Geelong, Victoria and has experienced a steady growth in participation rates, particularly among women and girls in the region.

“The Victorian Government’s World Game Facilities Fund is getting it done for the Golden Plains Soccer Club, providing more opportunities for passionate football fans to play the sport they love,” Tierney said.

Bannockburn Recreational Reserve has already experienced several upgrades over recent years with more than $3 million in funding helping to transform the venue into a leading regional football facility.

Golden Plains Shire Mayor Owen Sharkey was also pleased by the government’s willingness to invest in the region, stating it was a major boost those already playing the sport and also those wishing to get involved.

“The Golden Plains Soccer Club has an enthusiastic membership of male and female junior and senior players from many towns in the south of our shire, and the new change rooms and lights will further support participation in soccer in Golden Plains,” Cr Sharkey said.

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Football Victoria recognised in Pride in Sport Index 2026

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Image credit: Parilov / Shutterstock.com

The Silver Status shows Football Victoria‘s commitment to providing Victorians with a safe, inclusive landscape for all to enjoy the beautiful game.

Everyone’s game

Earlier this month, the Australian Pride in Sport Awards recognised several organisations and individuals across the nation who continue to champion inclusive spaces in the world of sport.

Among the nominees was Football Victoria, who received the Silver Status. FV Executive Manager Equity, Programs and Government Relations, Karen Pearce, expressed her pride at the achievement.

“Achieving Silver Status in the Pride in Sport Index is an important reflection of the work being done across Football Victoria to ensure LGBTQ+ people feel safe, welcomed and included in our game,” Pearce said via official press release.

“We remain committed to embedding inclusive practices across all levels of football, and continuing to create environments where everyone can belong, participate and thrive.”

 

Inclusion matters

While recognition is always a positive reflection of successful work behind the scenes, it is important to remember what the work intends to achieve.

Football – and sport in general – is a unique opportunity to bring diverse communities together, and to compete, spectate and enjoy the game on an equal playing field.

Furthermore, as custodians of ‘the world’s game’, governing bodies, fans and players around the world all share the responsibility to empower marginalised groups to feel included.

Two months ago, The Premier League introduced their own initiative – Premier League With Pride – reflecting their own commitment to ensuring football grounds, schools and academies remain welcoming.

 

Final thoughts

There is no place for hate or abuse in football, whether on a grassroots field or professional stadium.

Football Victoria will continue its journey and commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community – at all levels of the game – for many seasons to come.

Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

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The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
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Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

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