The AFC and Visa Renew Partnership

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Image Credit: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced a partnership renewal with worldwide digital payments service, Visa.

The rejuvenated collaboration will see Visa become the Official Global Supporter of the AFC’s crown jewel competitions – the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Women’s Champions League and AFC Champions League Two for both the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, in addition to the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26.

The partnership between the AFC and Visa first bloomed at the AFC Asan Cup Qatar 2023, and will now work to include more regions and provide a variety of exciting new fan experiences such as:

  • The Visa Coin Toss: Selected Visa cardholders will join in the pre-match coin toss with the team captains and officials.
  • Final Whistle Experience: Visa winners will be able to watch the final ten minutes of games from the pitch side.
  • Visa Player Escort Kids Programme: More than 100 children will be granted the opportunity to lead players onto the field at the AFC Champions League Elite Finals.

AFC General Secretary, Datuk Seri Windsor John, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership.

“Building on the incredible success of the greatest-ever AFC Asian Cup™ in history, the AFC is delighted to expand our partnership with Visa and welcome them as an Official Global Supporter of our world-class competitions,” he said via press release.
“The strategic reforms introduced to our competitions are already leaving a lasting impact on our teams and passionate fanbase, and we thank Visa for underlining their confidence in the future of Asian football.”
Visa Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Tarek Abdulla, outlined the significance of the collaboration for Visa.
“We are excited to renew Visa’s partnership with the Asian Football Confederation. This partnership highlights our ongoing dedication to uniting people through the universal language of sports and seamlessly aligns with our brand positioning – uplifting everyone, everywhere,” he said in a press release.
“Visa is proud to be in the unique position of sponsoring both the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ and the FIFA World Cup 2026. This provides opportunities to engage with fans as they follow their national team through the qualifying matches and all the way to the finals of the FIFA World Cup in July 2026. We look forward to creating memorable experiences for fans, local communities and teams alike at upcoming AFC events.”
Visa and the AFC will continue to explore new ways to elevate football for fans across Asia through their partnership in 2025 and beyond.
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Eastern Suburbs Football Association Announces First All-Female Referee Course and Expanded Women’s Competition

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Image Credit: Football NSW

The Eastern Suburbs Football Association has opened its 2026 season with three structural investments that reflect the growing ambition of community football associations to address participation, representation and development gaps simultaneously, beginning with the delivery of its first all-female Football Match Official Course.

The course, held at Matraville Sports High School and led by female liaison committee member Michelle Hilton and 2025 Referee of the Year Ariella Richards, brought 25 new female referees into the association ahead of Round 1. The initiative targets one of the most persistent imbalances in community sport, with women remaining significantly underrepresented in officiating roles at every level of the game, by creating a dedicated entry point separate from the mixed course environment that many women find unwelcoming.

The Women’s Premier League has also expanded, now featuring eleven teams and introducing a WPL1 and WPL2 structure following the first ten rounds of the season. The tiered format creates more competition opportunities for clubs across the region while providing a clearer development pathway for teams at different stages of growth. Returning clubs Randwick City, Glebe Wanderers, Easts FC and Sydney University join established sides in what the association describes as one of its most competitive women’s seasons. ESFA clubs have continued to perform strongly in state-wide competitions including the Football NSW Sapphire Cup, State Cup and Champion of Champions.

Building the next generation

The season opened with an inaugural Development League Gala Day for Under-9 to Under-12 boys and girls, bringing eight clubs together in a structured development environment ahead of Round 1. Sydney FC A-League Women’s players attended the event and engaged directly with young participants, a deliberate effort to connect grassroots players with visible examples of where the pathway leads.

“We are committed to creating more opportunities for clubs, players, coaches and referees to thrive, with a strong focus on participation opportunities to suit participants of all abilities and aspirations,” said ESFA CEO John Boulous.

The three initiatives, a new referee entry point for women, an expanded women’s competition structure, and a development-focused junior gala day with elite role models present, together reflect an association responding to the participation pressures the AFC Women’s Asian Cup has brought into sharp relief across Australian football.

More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

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