Mariners Academy builds unique development pathway with Upper 90

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Upper 90
Image credit: Upper 90

The Central Coast Mariners Academy and Upper 90 have entered a ground-breaking relationship that designates Upper 90 as the Central Coast Mariners Academy’s official USA college soccer-football route partner.

In order to identify the best academic and athletic match for each person, they assist student athletes and their families in locating scholarship possibilities throughout all American collegiate sports divisions.

The Mariners and Upper 90 will work together to provide chances for football players of all skill levels to learn more about what college sports have to offer.

In business since 2010, Upper90 is a top USA college sports recruitment firm that assists its clients by advising and training them to communicate with US collegiate sports programmes. Upper 90 College’s expertise includes training and development of competitive athletes, sports marketing, with an extensive network of college sports coaches within the US college sports system, as well as educational and sports pathways into European Universities.

John Stevanja, a representative for Upper 90, expressed his satisfaction at joining forces with the Central Coast Mariners Academy which has a reputation of producing quality players – most recently Garang Kuol who went on to sign for Newcastle in the Premier League.

“The US college system is a proven process whereby players can access scholarships that give them best of both worlds,” he said via press release. 

“This includes a range of scholarship and playing standard levels for male and female football players, as well as educational bridging courses to college levels, first class college sporting infrastructure, facilities, coaching and scouting networks, as well as a range of post college semi pro and professional football leagues.

“Upper 90 have provided access to sporting and academic scholarships to Australian athletes for 13 years now and we have seen incredible success for our clients as sporting and academic levels.”

Central Coast Mariners men’s academy first grade coach Abbas Saad is excited to see the club add another bow to the Academy’s string, providing opportunities for all members. 

“This is an exciting new partnership that comes at a time when the Academy is entering an incredible period having had lots of player development success, including being rated the number one academy in Asia,” he added via press release.

“This partnership is a great opportunity for those Academy players that may not be quite ready for first team promotion or who want to balance their academic opportunities as well as football development moving forward. The opportunity will give players a chance to both improve their academics and football overseas in a tried and tested college system, before potentially returning to Australia in the hunt for an A-League contract.” 

The Mariners and their academy will look to maintain their reputation of being one of Australia’s best talent factories and continue producing high level youth players. 

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

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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.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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