NSW Government Invests for 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup

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Image Credit: Football Australia

The New South Wales Government has committed substantial funding to ensure Sydney takes centre stage in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026.

The investment confirmed in this week’s state budget announcement representing a major boost for women’s football in Australia.

The funding package forms part of the state government’s broader strategy to position NSW as a leader in women’s sport and major event hosting with the investment being welcomed by Football Australia and the tournament’s Local Organising Committee.

Western Sydney Stadium will host six group stage fixtures, capitalising on the region’s reputation as one of Australia’s passionate footballing and culturally diverse communities.

The venue selection reflects the tournament organisers’ commitment to engaging with grassroots football supporters across Greater Sydney. Accor stadium will also stage two quarterfinals, a semi-final and the tournament decider, cementing Sydney’s status as the competition’s epicentre.

Beyond match hosting, the government investment will fund comprehensive event promotion and fan engagement initiatives across Greater Sydney.

Tournament organisers project that approximately 62 per cent of all competition tickets will be sold within NSW.

The target is creating significant opportunities to showcase Sydney to visiting supporters from across Asia and local supporters.

The funding represents additional support beyond the existing NSW Football Legacy Program and demonstrates the state government’s commitment to football development.

Football Australia Interim Chief Executive Heather Garriock praised the government’s backing.

“We thank the Minister Steve Kamper and the NSW Government for this significant investment in the future of women’s football. It’s a bold commitment that recognises the power of sport to inspire and unite. This funding ensures Sydney is front and centre of the tournament experience — from Western Sydney to the world stage,” Garriock commented via official Football Australia press release.

Sarah Walsh, Chief Operating Officer of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Local Organising Committee, highlighted the significance of hosting the majority of ticket sales within NSW.

“With over half the tournament’s ticket sales expected here, it’s an extraordinary opportunity to connect with our community, celebrate our cultural diversity, and deliver an unforgettable event. Hosting the Matildas at Stadium Australia on International Women’s Day will be a defining moment in Australian sporting history, and we look forward to bringing that to life,” Walsh mentioned via official Football Australia press release.

“Football Australia and the LOC continue to work in close partnership with government, commercial partners and stakeholders to ensure the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ leaves a lasting legacy for the game, for women, and for the nation.”

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 represents a crucial opportunity for Australian women’s football to build on the Matildas’ recent World Cup success and the fever after.

The tournament serving as both a competitive pinnacle and a platform for continued growth in the women’s game across the region.

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Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

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Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

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