How KEEPUP will revolutionise football in Australia

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Late last week, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) launched their new $30 million digital platform KEEPUP.

The main aim of the new digital hub is to convert a larger proportion of the 8 million football fans in this country into supporters of Australia’s premier domestic competitions.

“The platform was delivered to broaden and enhance the fan experience, connecting A-Leagues fans and international competition fans in one place,” a statement from the APL read.

“In its current form, the platform will focus on creating and curating content to bring fans close to the game however they choose, with significant expansion planned into the future.

“KEEPUP will feature compelling content from the best of the A-Leagues, European and world football, the Socceroos and Matildas, NPL, and FFA Cup.

“A-League clubs’ content hubs will also be integrated onto the platform to ensure fans are offered the most comprehensive football resource available in Australia.”

KEEPUP, across their website and app, have already begun producing a wide array of content from breaking news stories, expert columns from football journalists, articles on football culture, video productions and in-depth analysis features, not just on the A-League, but world football.

The KEEPUP team is led by Optus’ former director of sport Richard Bayliss, who is in charge of the editorial, social media and production practices across the platform.

KEEPUP will have a strong impetus on keeping editorial independence and not cheerlead for the APL and its clubs at every opportunity.

“Day one of the launch we had two A-League CEOs complaining about criticism on our platform, this is all about being authentic and you can’t have a propaganda site,” APL Managing Director, Danny Townsend, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Football fans are extremely discerning and the minute they see something that is not authentic…they’ll call that out.”

Alongside the diverse content on the platform, KEEPUP will look to innovate in ways which will engage new audiences and provide those they already have connected with, with unique experiences.

“This is just the beginning,” Chief Commercial Officer at the APL, Ant Hearne, said.

“We have a bold plan to evolve KEEPUP into an unparalleled global digital hub, expanding functionality beyond a content base to include gamification, e-Commerce, ticketing, second screen live stadium experiences and loyalty programs.”

Other codes in Australia such as Cricket, AFL and NRL have all invested heavily in their own digital content over time, however the $30 million digital investment from the APL is playing to the strategic advantages that football has over other sports.

“I look at what the other sports are doing and they’re very much wed, fortunately, to TV deals that mean they don’t need to do what we’re doing,” Townsend told the SMH.

“We’re in a situation where we’ve got an enormous base, we’ve got the youngest fan base of any sport in the country who are all digital natives. We’re going to get into the direct-to-consumer business and that will preserve the long-term revenues and build the football economy.”

If you register an account on KEEPUP (which is free to do so), you will receive a four-week trial to Paramount+ – the service which is showcasing the majority of Australian football games for the next five years.

This offer is a slice of things to come between the APL and their new broadcast partner ViacomCBS, with future plans for content from the digital platform to be integrated further into the Channel 10 Network and Paramount+.

“What Channel 10 and ViacomCBS bought into was our strategy,” Townsend told the SMH.

“The ViacomCBS deal was a really critical one for us on many levels financially, but equally the reach it delivers us. But importantly, the owners have continued to invest and put their money where their mouth is.

“The sports media and commercial landscape is changing and the days of sports just serving up content on television, taking a big cheque and playing sport are over. It’s changing in a way that requires sports to take the initiative and connect with their fans.

“We’ve got to become an entertainment business because at the end of the day, if we’re going to grow revenues of the sport, we need to engage our fans more effectively.”

The APL’s KEEPUP platform has only been around for just over a week, but its long-term agenda has the potential to change the perception of the game in this country.

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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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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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