Hyundai and Kia stay loyal with FIFA until 2030 to extend past two decades

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FIFA and Hyundai
Image credit: FIFA

Hyundai Motor Group affiliates Hyundai and Kia have jointly announced the renewal of their long term partnerships with FIFA until 2030.

This joint partnership has a lot of history behind it, with Hyundai beginning its alliance with FIFA in 1999 before Kia first began its football sponsorship activities in 2006 for the Germany World Cup. In 2010, Hyundai/Kia signed a long-term agreement to continue the partnership until 2022.

The renewals will cover a wide range of FIFA’s most prestigious competitions, including the eagerly anticipated FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ and FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Hyundai and Kia have provided long-term transportation and financial support for FIFA, and both companies have expressed the importance on having an emphasis on the growth and development of the women’s game with the FIFA Women’s World Cup around the corner.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino was present at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland to celebrate the occasion with a long-term partner.

“We’re thrilled to continue our long standing partnerships with Hyundai and Kia. Over the years, they have consistently demonstrated their commitment to supporting FIFA, and we value their dedication to enhancing the overall experience at our tournaments,” said the FIFA President.

“As we enter this new era together, we’re excited about the prospects that lie ahead with the addition of Boston Dynamics and Supernal. Together, we’ll continue to work on uniting the world through football.”

Karl Kim, the President of Hyundai Motor Group, added to Infantino’s comments on behalf of his company.

“On behalf of Hyundai Motor Group, we’re honoured to extend our partnerships with FIFA, reinforcing our long standing commitment to the world of football,” commented the President of Hyundai Motor Group.

“As we embark on this renewed collaboration, we look forward to showcasing the capabilities of our mobility solutions and partner brands on a global scale. Together with FIFA, we aim to inspire and unite fans around the world through the power of football.”

On the Hyundai website, the group extensively talks about its connection with the sport of Football.

“Football partnerships are a fundamental pillar of Hyundai/Kia’s global marketing strategy that provide compelling opportunities to build an emotional connection with customers by sharing in their passion for football.” it reads.

Ground transportation is critical to the successful staging of an international event like the FIFA World Cup. Having proven itself as a dependable vehicle supplier for a number of FIFA competitions from 2006 to 2018, it’s a perfect partner to ensure transportation of teams and staff runs smoothy for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that starts on July 20.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

Launched in 2024, the research project recently welcomed two US-based organisations: the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

 

About Project ACL

Led by FIFPRO, PFA England, Nike and Leeds Beckett University, Project ACL aims to research ACL injuries and understand more about multifactorial risk factors.

After piloting in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Project ACL will expand to the NWSL in the US, reflecting the global importance of the project’s research and outcome.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and NWSL to Project ACL,” said Director of Women’s Football at FIFPRO, Dr. Alex Culvin, via official press release.

“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organisers and stakeholdersaround the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”

Interviews with over 30 players and team surveys across all 12 WSL clubs provided the project’s research team with valuable information about current prevention strategies and available resources.

Furthermore, the project tracks player workload and busy schedule periods during the season through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool, therefore gaining insights into the link between scheduling and injury risks.

 

Looking to the data

Project ACL’s partnerships with the WSL – and now the NWSL – are immensely valuable for the future of player welfare in women’s football.

Although ACL injuries affect both male and female athletes, they are twice as likely to occur in women than men. However, according to the NWSL, as little as 8% of sports science research focuses on female athletes.

In Australia, several CommBank Matildas suffered ACL injuries in recent years: Sam Kerr was sidelined from January 2024 to September 2025, Ellie Carpenter for 8 months after suffering the injury while playing for Olympique Lyonnais, and Holly McNamara came back from three ACL’s aged 15, 18 and 20.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2025/26 ALW season saw several ACL incidents, including four in just two weeks.

 

Research, prevent, protect

Injury prevention and research are vital to sport – whether professional or amateur.

But when the numbers are so shocking – and incidents are so common – governing bodies must remember that player welfare comes above all else. Research can inform prevention strategies. Prevention means players can enjoy the game they love.

The work of Project ACL, continuing until 2027, will hopefully protect countless players across women’s football from suffering long-term or recurring injuries.

South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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Image Credit: SCFC

South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

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