Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program

Liam Watson

The Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program allocates $4 million over four years to assist sporting clubs across NSW in the purchase and maintenance of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).

An AED is a life saving device which delivers a controlled shock to an individual experiencing cardiac arrest, increasing their chances of survival.

The Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program provides NSW sports clubs and councils the opportunity to acquire an AED package for their club or sports facility at a reduced cost.

Sporting organisations and councils will be able to choose from a panel of approved AED Panel Service Providers and a variety of AED packaged services with the level of customer service that meets their needs.

An AED package will include:

  • An AED
  • AED familiarisation instruction (within 28 days of delivery)
  • A minimum of six years of essential AED maintenance

For full details of what an AED package includes, visit the Frequently Asked Questions.

AED Panel Service Providers, AED products and services are required to meet and maintain minimum requirements under the panel contract with the Office of Sport. Sporting organisations and councils must rely on their own enquiries to the suitability of the AED Panel Service Provider they engage.

Eligibility

  • Incorporated, not-for-profit sports clubs in NSW
  • State or national sporting organisations on behalf of member clubs located in NSW, to a maximum of 10 per Zone
  • Licensed sporting clubs, providing that the project directly benefits sporting activities
  • Sport clubs associated with a school, church or university providing they are an incorporated not for profit club in their own right
  • Councils on behalf of sports clubs
  • Councils, sport and recreational facilities owners on behalf of sports clubs
  • Service clubs such as Rotary, CWA and Lions, on behalf of sporting clubs

Funding range of grant

  • Grants are available up to 50 per cent of the AED package in Zones 1 and 2 and up to 75 per cent in Zone 3.Applicants can request more than one AED.
    Zone Maximum Grant Amount
    1 $1,250
    2 $1,300
    3 $1,900

    Applicants will need to contribute to the purchase price and accept any further operating expenses from their own budget.

    Grants are available up to 50% of the selected AED package price in Zones 1 and 2 and up to 75% in Zone 3, capped at the levels stated below.

    Funding should be expended within six months of the date of signing the funding agreement.

    What will be funded

More Info: Office of sport NSW

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Western United ruled out of 2026–27 A-League season

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Image Credit: Western United FC

Western United’s participation in the A-Leagues has officially been terminated, ending the club’s immediate pathway back into Australia’s professional football competitions.

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) terminated Western United’s Club Participation Agreement on Monday, following months of discussions over the club’s future.

The decision comes after Western United’s attempt to secure a return to the A-League for the 2026–27 season was unsuccessful. Football Australia had previously determined that the club did not meet the requirements to retain its licence.

Western United has now turned its attention towards rebuilding the organisation under new ownership, with the club targeting a return to the A-League for the 2027–28 season.

In a statement, Western United said the termination creates an opportunity for “new custodians, new investment and a fresh start”, while emphasising the importance of maintaining the club’s identity in Melbourne’s west.

The club’s financial problems have been a major issue over the past two years with the club being placed into a conditional hibernation ahead of the 2025/26 A-League season.

The APL said its decision was made following the club’s breach of several obligations under the agreement, including compliance with Football Australia’s National Club Licensing Regulations.

The club’s proposed 2027–28 comeback will therefore depend on securing new investment, addressing its outstanding operational requirements and demonstrating that it can meet the conditions necessary to re-enter the A-Leagues.

While Monday’s decision brings an end to Western United’s current participation agreement, the club maintains that it is not the end for Western United.

Now, the club that won the A-League grand final just four years ago, will now turn its attention to restructuring the business and building a sustainable platform for a potential return to Australia’s professional football landscape.

 

 

FIFPRO demands governance reform after FIFA’s FFE failure

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Image credit: BBC Sport

While FIFA cancelled plans to move forward with FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), FIFPRO are demanding change at the top of football’s global governing body.

‘Abuse of power’

The plan to sell minority stakes in future FIFA competitions to private investors brought intense criticism from fans across the world.

Governing bodies including UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) and the AFC (Asia) rallied against FFE and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, leading to a crisis meeting in Morocco to determine Infantino’s seemingly untenable position at the head of world football governance.

The meeting, however, confirmed Infantino will remain as FIFA President going forward – a decision which has since prompted FIFPRO to make their stance clear: governance reform is a must.

“The withdrawal of FFE was inevitable. But withdrawing the proposal does not erase what it revealed,” the organisation said via an official statement on the FIFPRO website.

“A plan capable of permanently altering the ownership and governance of the FIFA World Cup, and commercialising the competitions built by generations of players, was conceived in secrecy, negotiated behind closed doors and brought to the brink of agreement before the FIFA Council, the Member Associations, players and football’s recognised stakeholders even knew it existed.”

“That is not merely a governance failure. It is a profound abuse of presidential power.”

 

How to navigate governance post-FFE

As reiterated by FIFPRO, the FFE controversy arrived a mere few weeks after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FIFA and the player’s union marked an optimistic step to a more collaborative future.

But what was previously a step in the right direction, now seems an insufficient policy to protect players – and the wider landscape of world football – from future unilateral decisions at the top.

FIFPRO’s demands – agreed upon by the Presidents of all FIFPRO regional divisions across Africa, Asia/Oceania, Europe, South America and Central & North America – include measures such as:

  • Using the Global Social Dialogue Platform as fundamental part of FIFA’s governance
  • Engagement with stakeholders over future decisions affecting the professional game
  • Voting rights for professional football’s stakeholders on the FIFA Council
  • Structural reforms to prevent future unilateral decisions

The message from FIFPRO is therefore clear. Now is not the time to rest on criticism; stakeholders in the professional game must encourage action and reform.

“These reforms are now indespensable. But they are the responsibility of the future, not an absolution of the past,” FIFPRO continued via their official statement.

“The players did not create this crisis. They will insist that football emerges from it with stronger institutions, stronger safeguards and leadership worthy of the trust the game demands.”

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