Regents Park Saints FC’s women’s game in 2026 and beyond

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Football NSW

The New South Wales club has outlined that current facilities are not well-adapted for women and girls engaging with local football, putting long-term participation at risk. 

 

Keeping pace with rapid growth 

With participation numbers in women’s football rapidly increasing across New South Wales, appropriate infrastructure becomes all the more essential. And for the women and girls looking to join local teams like Regents Park Saints FC, there is growing concern that facilities are struggling to keep up with the modern game. 

Outdated infrastructure, lack of privacy and minimal space in changing rooms have been highlighted as the main issues currently facing the upcoming generations of young female footballing talent. 

Regents Park Saints FC Club Secretary, Vanessa Thorburn, emphasised the benefits to having updated facilities for all players associated with the club. 

“Any updates to our changing rooms are going to benefit our players, but also any other players that use our club,” Thorburn explained via video press release issued Monday. 

Of course, the proposals are not just about addressing present concerns, but about planning for the future of the women’s game and establishing the right environment to nurture young talent.

“The Matildas did a great job of promoting girls in football and I think that it’s something that has really taken off and you see so much more interest in it. We like to think that our club will grow the future Matildas one day,” Thorburn continued. 

 

How can the 2026 AFC Women’s Asia Cup play a role? 

With the 2026 AFC Women’s Asia Cup just around the corner, the next few months represent a pivotal point for the development of the women’s game in Australia. 

In the past, participation and match attendance has increased following major tournaments like the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. For example, between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 season, average attendances at ALW matches shot up from 1,233 to 2,117. It is clear that the Matildas can play in creating nationwide support for women’s football. 

As Australia will host the tournament this upcoming March, there is potential for it to act as a springboard for change across the nation’s football pyramid. 

What remains important to remember is that creating buzz among fans is not enough to sustain long-term progression. The football-fever which will arise when the Matildas kick off in March this year will hopefully infect not only future stars, but the current governing bodies with the power to implement real change in the women’s game. 

 

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

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

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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Image credit: BBC

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 positive 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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