Major events return to NSW with Matildas match series

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Football Australia have announced that the Commonwealth Bank Matildas will host Brazil in a two-match series next month.

The matches are set to be held at the newly named CommBank Stadium in Western Sydney, on October 23 and October 26, 2021.

October will mark 19 months since the Matildas last played on home soil in a 2-1 win against Vietnam in a Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Play-Off match in March 2020.

Since then, Football Australia has made it a key priority to bring the Socceroos and Matildas home following the significant impact of COVID-19 on the world.

The plan to stage a Matildas double header marks the first of its kind for any sporting code in Australia and opens up opportunities for other international sports and the broader entertainment industry to consider similar arrangements.

This is a symbolic announcement as Australia begins to grapple with a COVID normal roadmap internationally, as the Matildas prepare for a busy international schedule ahead including the much-anticipated FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.

Behind the scenes, Football Australia has worked tirelessly to develop an innovative Quarantine Management Plan to meet the requirements of Government, taking a leadership role in being a COVID-19 responsible sport and offering solutions that work within Government frameworks, protocols, and vaccination roadmaps.

This announcement also coincides with New South Wales being on target to reach a double vaccination rate of 70 per cent of all people aged 16 and over in advance of these fixtures, with crowd capacities to be determined by the Public Health Order at the time of the matches.

Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson was delighted with this announcement that will see the Commonwealth Bank Matildas play on home soil for the first time in over 18 months.

“We have made it our priority to bring our national teams home for international football so this is a phenomenal outcome for Australian football and one which we have been working tirelessly towards behind the scenes with both the Federal and NSW Government for a considerable amount of time now and appreciate the efforts of the NSW Government in particular,” Johnson said.

“International football is unique in that players are only made available during an international window of nine (9) days.  With many of our Commonwealth Bank Matildas and Socceroos based overseas, the 14-day compulsory quarantine period for international arrivals effectively rendered any international football in Australia impossible.

“Our team at Football Australia put together a submission based on global best practice, focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of players and staff, which has been accepted by the NSW Government and aligns nicely with its roadmap to opening up.

“We are excited that the first matches will be the Commonwealth Bank Matildas against Brazil on 23 and 26 October to be held at CommBank Stadium and can’t wait to welcome fans back into Stadiums.”

With confirmation of theses matches, Football Australia is now in the process of locking in the proposed fixtures between the Matildas and the current FIFA Women’s World Cup Champions, the United States Women’s National Team, in a two-match series earmarked for November 27 and November 30, 2021, both of which are to be hosted in Australia, subject to Government discussions and Public Health Orders.

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Eastern Suburbs Football Association Announces First All-Female Referee Course and Expanded Women’s Competition

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Image Credit: Football NSW

The Eastern Suburbs Football Association has opened its 2026 season with three structural investments that reflect the growing ambition of community football associations to address participation, representation and development gaps simultaneously, beginning with the delivery of its first all-female Football Match Official Course.

The course, held at Matraville Sports High School and led by female liaison committee member Michelle Hilton and 2025 Referee of the Year Ariella Richards, brought 25 new female referees into the association ahead of Round 1. The initiative targets one of the most persistent imbalances in community sport, with women remaining significantly underrepresented in officiating roles at every level of the game, by creating a dedicated entry point separate from the mixed course environment that many women find unwelcoming.

The Women’s Premier League has also expanded, now featuring eleven teams and introducing a WPL1 and WPL2 structure following the first ten rounds of the season. The tiered format creates more competition opportunities for clubs across the region while providing a clearer development pathway for teams at different stages of growth. Returning clubs Randwick City, Glebe Wanderers, Easts FC and Sydney University join established sides in what the association describes as one of its most competitive women’s seasons. ESFA clubs have continued to perform strongly in state-wide competitions including the Football NSW Sapphire Cup, State Cup and Champion of Champions.

Building the next generation

The season opened with an inaugural Development League Gala Day for Under-9 to Under-12 boys and girls, bringing eight clubs together in a structured development environment ahead of Round 1. Sydney FC A-League Women’s players attended the event and engaged directly with young participants, a deliberate effort to connect grassroots players with visible examples of where the pathway leads.

“We are committed to creating more opportunities for clubs, players, coaches and referees to thrive, with a strong focus on participation opportunities to suit participants of all abilities and aspirations,” said ESFA CEO John Boulous.

The three initiatives, a new referee entry point for women, an expanded women’s competition structure, and a development-focused junior gala day with elite role models present, together reflect an association responding to the participation pressures the AFC Women’s Asian Cup has brought into sharp relief across Australian football.

More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

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