Professional Footballers Australia’s 2023/2024 Player Development Program Report highlights continued growth in mental health and education support

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Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) have released their annual Player Development Program (PDP) Report for 2023/2024.

This is an overall summary of the achievements and breakdown of data form the PFA  Programs with recognition of their important figures and feedback.

Established by the PFA in 2013, the PDP is the PFA’s approach to player development. The PDP is supported by the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) between the PFA, on behalf of the players, the Australian Professional Leagues and Football Australia.

Jackson Irvine, current Socceroo and PFA President sets the tone of the PFA mission.

“I firmly believe in the importance of footballers balancing their careers on the pitch with pursuits and interests off it. Personally, I’ve always felt that my identity and passions extend beyond football, enabling me to maintain a healthy balance off the field and be well-prepared for the inevitable transition after I hang up my boots.”

The Program’s overall objectives cover the 3 program sections of supporting players in their Career, Wellbeing and Retirement.

These objectives are:

  1. To deliver high quality, evidence-based programs and services to ensure that players have access to the best education, information and practical skill building.
  2. Empowering players to ensure a successful transition and retirement into a meaningful and fulfilling life.
  3. To ensure the connection between players, the PFA and the game continues beyond their retirement as a player.
  4. Establishing and foster industry commitment and awareness of player development.

Career:

This program is to ensure players develop an understanding of the industry, including their rights and responsibilities while transitioning into new environments in professional football.

Some of the resulting data includes:

  • 203 Education grants provided to players.
  • 211 players undertook PDP induction.
  • 435 A-Leagues players attended PFA skill development workshops.
  • 47 National Team players attended a financial education, tax and superannuation workshop.

Wellbeing

Player’s wellbeing has been the most evident growing part of the PDP.

The PFA PDP provides players access to a variety of programs and services to support their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Through the PFA’s Mental Health Referral Network players and family members have been able to get confidential access to a selection psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists.

Through then PFA’s new partnership with Sporting Chance Clinic UK the PFA can now deliver UK base Clinical support for players in the European leagues.

This network has been used to fight the many wellbeing areas in need of support

Some of these involve:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Relationship breakdown
  • Addiction
  • Grief
  • Body issues
  • Performance anxiety

The PFA has recorded that 1,082 Confidential counselling sessions were provided to players in the 23/24 season.

A massive increase if you compared to just 773 sessions in the 22/23 season and 141 in 20/21 season.

Rita Mankowska, the PFA Head of Player Development, comments: “The new partnership with UK-based Sporting Chance Clinic will enhance the PFA’s mental health services available to players based overseas.

“The new partnership will positively impact over 150 of the PFA’s overseas based members and their partners, granting them access to receive emotional or mental health support by accredited expert practitioners in European-friendly time zones.”

Also, within the Wellbeing Program there has been:

  • 10 GameReady recovery machines provided to players to support their recovery from injury.
  • 30 Heart Health, Concussion and Skin Cancer Checks for Past Players.
  • 45 Skin Cancer Checks for National Team Players.
  • 115 players that undertook concussion, betting and match fixing education.

Retirement

A source of immense pressure for players in their relatively short careers is their eventual retirement opportunities.

The PFA focuses on fully preparing players for their eventual retirement by exploring post football careers and incentivising off field development and education.

In this season:

  • 150 players joined the PFA Past Player Program.
  • 18 past player events held across most major cities including 6 Women’s World Cup special events.
  • 76 players attended PFA centralised coaching courses.
  • 16 players entered the PFA x Deloitte Salesforce Career Training Program.

Before the conclusion of each A-League season, the PFA invited all members to give feedback on the PFA PDP and staff.

The result of this review is a massive success:

  • 97% of players were either slightly or extremely satisfied with the PDP.
  • 97% satisfaction of PFA skill development workshops.
  • 97% satisfaction of PFA education grants.
  • 95% satisfaction of the PFA’s Mental Health Referral Network.

These results solidify the healthy support the PFA receives in their effective programs and integral place in the Australian Footballing framework.

The PFA’s expansion into the UK with their Mental Health Referral Network also indicates their drive for expansion and still delivering top quality support for Australians who want to follow a career overseas.

This Player Development Program shows great promise and a rewarding metric for the PFA to try and exceed in the coming 2024/25 season.

You can read the PDP Report 2024 in full by visiting the link here.

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

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The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

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The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s influence and impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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