Queensland football legend Matt McKay appointed to FQ Board of Directors

Matthew Badrov27/08/2021 5:55 am12/10/2021

Football Queensland has announced the recruitment of former Brisbane Roar captain Matt McKay as an Appointed Director to the Football Queensland board.

A former Socceroo who was capped a total of 59 times for his country, McKay enjoyed a stellar playing career at both international and domestic level.

McKay’s time with the Roar saw him lead a historic Brisbane team to their first-ever A-League Premiership and Championship in 2011 under Ange Postecoglou.

Spells with Scottish giants Rangers, Korean side Busan IPark and Chinese side Changchun Yatai preceded a second Premiership and Championship double with the Roar in 2014. McKay is currently the Roar’s record appearances holder in the A-League.

McKay shone on the international stage with the Socceroos as he took on the likes of Spain at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and won the Asian Cup on home soil in 2015, having continued to thrive within the Postecoglou setup that he had come to know earlier in the decade.

McKay’s earliest footballing roots can be traced back to playing youth football with the QAS and AIS. From there, McKay went on to feature in the National Soccer League for current NPL Queensland side Brisbane Strikers before eventually excelling in the A-League.

“Matt is a proud Queenslander and brings extensive knowledge of the football landscape and the player pathway in our state, as well as his unique experience as a player on the national and international stage,” FQ Chairman Ben Richardson said.

“We’re delighted to welcome Matt to the FQ Board, and his appointment is timely as Football Queensland implements new league structures to connect competitions across the state as part of the Future of Football 2020+ reforms.

“The FQ Board is confident that Matt will play an instrumental role as we strengthen community clubs, player development and opportunities for aspirational clubs by connecting the football pyramid in Queensland, and we look forward to working with him.”

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Football NSW 2025 Registrations Surge as Season Approaches

Noah Coopey19/03/2025 6:30 am18/03/2025

Image credit: Football NSW website

Football NSW community registrations have rocketed beyond the 200,000 marks, keeping pace to eclipse the record numbers set in 2024, as the code’s popularity continues to boom across the state.

Australia’s most populous state has been breaking records the last couple years with rising participation numbers. This year continues to solidify that trend.

Junior participation is leading the charge with more than 115,000 children aged 5-12 already signed up with local clubs as the winter football season draws near.

This sustained growth follows an exceptional 2024 season that witnessed a 9% increase in overall player registrations, with female participation skyrocketing by an impressive 17%.

Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas was particularly proud with the increased junior and female representation.

“It’s pleasing to see the healthy number of juniors registering for the upcoming community football season,” Tsatsimas commented via official Football NSW Press release.

“It’s equally great to once again see female participation at the forefront of our growth.

“Our club volunteers and Associations have done a tremendous job in overseeing registrations within their local communities and we’re looking forward to seeing the new season get underway in April.”

Not just grassroots football in NSW, but nationwide, football participation has seen huge growth in youth and female participation.

A strong NSW football environment at the forefront of this surge is key to maintaining and cultivating participation.

Though with every increase in participating numbers, the community-based clubs bear the brunt of more demand.

Now more than ever, associations and clubs need sufficient support from the state Football federation if they want to continue these exciting results.

Though time will tell how much of an increase in players there will be, the report is promising.

How to maintain the players and bring more into the footballing community in the coming years will be the next big questions for all levels of football in the state and in the country.

Bundesliga Revenue Surges to New Record High

Jack Huggett18/03/2025 5:55 am15/03/2025

Image credit: Shutterstock - Vitalii Vitleo

The German Football League (DFL) has broken its revenue record across the top two flights of football from the 2023/24 season, producing $10.098 Billion AUD.

The impressive feat is a 12% increase on the previous record of $9.014 billion AUD, achieved in the prior 2022/23 season. The majority of revenue was produced by the Bundesliga, accruing more than $8.25 billion AUD in revenue. Meanwhile the .2 Bundesliga recorded its highest ever total revenue, generating $1.7 billion AUD.

Helping boost the DFL’s record breaking revenue were the Bundesliga’s best ever ticket sales. The 2023/24 season broke the record for most tickets sold in a season, with over 20.74 million tickets sold across the top two divisions, an increase of almost one million tickets on the 2022/23 season. Additionally, the 2023/24 season recorded the highest average number of tickets sold per game ever with approximately 33,885 tickets sold per game.

In the top division, matchday revenue was significant, recording $899 million AUD, 10.91% of the league’s total revenue. However, in the second division, matchday revenue was even more impactful – generating $449 million AUD and accounting for 24.45% of the total revenue share.

However, the Bundesliga’s record $197 million AUD profit was boosted by the league’s strong transfer period which contributed to 18% of total revenue gained.

Ultimately, media rights were once again by far the largest source of income, accounting for $2.6 Billion AUD in the Bundesliga.

Chairman of the DFL supervisory board, Hans-Joachim Watzke, outlined how the records were strong signs of a healthy German football pyramid.

“With these key figures for the 2023-24 season, German professional football is sending positive economic signals against the general trend,” he said in a press release.

“Furthermore, and beyond the economic dimension, football has a positive impact on society. Our stadiums are places where people from all walks of life can come together and share emotions and unforgettable moments.”

Additionally, from the 2023/24 season each of the Bundesliga’s clubs and 14 of the .2 Bundesliga club achieved positive equity.