The round ball game pioneering again with the launch of Women in Football

The mere fact that groups and associations with an intention to promote inclusivity even exist, says a lot about their importance.

Without awareness, action and activism things rarely change. Just as an acute and improved understanding of the complex issues surrounding men’s mental health and the newfound and fitting determination to address violence against women are important and poignant challenges in a modern and well-functioning western democracy, the empowerment of women in sport is critical.

For some time there has been something of a comfortable status quo in existence, where more and more women have become involved in organised competitive sport, yet their self-determination within it has remained limited.

Much back-patting and congratulatory sentiment has circled around increased participation and success in women’s sport, however, it has stopped well short of allowing women to become more involved in informing and driving the briskly developing and ever changing narrative.

As is so often the case, the metaphor of football can be a catalyst for change.

June saw the Matildas showcased on the world’s biggest footballing stage in a dramatic World Cup Round of 16 loss to Norway. The fervent energy and enthusiasm around the team saw thousands travel to and focus on France and the gripping group matches against Italy, Brazil and Jamaica.

Television viewership around the globe skyrocketed, achieving astronomical numbers in comparison to previous tournaments and the standard of both the individual and team play was impressive.

Yet just 37.5% of those charged with leading their squads into battle in a managerial/coaching role were women. That is testament to an ingrained perception and existing infrastructure that still sees women’s sport as something of a novelty, an add on if you will.

Achieving a stand-alone identity without the need for delineation between the sexes when discussing competitive play is sporting nirvana. It is also something that needs to and will, be achieved.

Australian football has made its stand on the issue with the formation of the Women in Football Association.

NSW Minister for Sport, the Hon John Sidoti MP launched the initiative at Parliament house last Wednesday. The FFA has given its full endorsement and aims to work collaboratively with and in support of the new group.

FFA Chairman Chris Nikou categorically verbalised that support. “From my perspective, anything that encourages and supports more women to get involved in our game, the better,” he said.

The Women in Football Association has similarities to the United Kingdom’s model, with aims to promote and support gender equality. That not only means a continued effort to expose young girls to the game and encourage participation but also to establish a network of connectivity that benefits players, coaches and officials alike.

Women in Football President and international football reform advocate Bonita Mersiades cited the long standing “under-representation of women in football”, even though it was a sport that attracted women of all ages at all levels as volunteers, administrators, players and fans.

Mersiades and her fellow committee members are unified in their belief that a national association with a focus on “networking, collaboration and professional development from grassroots up, is long overdue”.

The committee has eight members and a considerable and divergent group it is. The secretary of Brunswick Zebras Carole Fabian, President of South Hobart FC Vicki Morton and the director of Heartbeat of Football Elia Santoro are three respected voices in the game.

CEO of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation Lesley Podesta, journalist George Donikian and Western Sydney University Associate Professor Jorge Knijnik also bring an array of skills and knowledge to the committee.

The eighth member is former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, a man with potentially as much knowledge as anyone when it comes to the inner workings of the women’s game.

Not only will Women in Football support the players, managers and the peripheral women in the game, it will also compile a definitive and accessible professional contact list, in an attempt to advocate for increased employment opportunities for female football professionals.

That network aims to provide federations with a resource to identify suitably qualified women, appoint them and address the existing imbalance via improved professional development and opportunity.

It looms as a ground breaking initiative, both for the women and girls involved in the game as well as Australian football in general.

The journey to true inclusivity and equality continues, with Women in Football now likely to accelerate that rate of change and advance the women’s game another step in the short to medium term.

Membership of the Association is just $25, open to men and women and the relevant details can be found at womeninfootball.org.au.

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Beyond the Game: Why Football Deserves Government Backing

More Than a Game: Why Football Is a Smart Investment for Australia

Early last month, Football Australia announced its ‘Securing our Football Future’ policy proposals, worth an estimated $2.8 billion.

The plan aims to strengthen Australia’s most popular team sport by partnering with all levels of government, including the federal level, over the next five to ten years.

There are several key reasons why Football Australia is calling for major government investment.

The organisation says there’s a growing infrastructure gap that’s holding the sport back.

This shortfall is making it difficult to meet rising demand, support grassroots programs, build stronger communities, and elevate the game from local fields to the global stage.

Other reasons include funding future football tournaments and creating a positive social impact across local communities.

Investing in sport can sometimes raise concerns, especially given the estimates put forward by Football Australia.

But many other benefits often go unnoticed, and these could bring long-term value to the entire nation.

Export of Football Education:

One compelling reason for the government to invest in football is its potential to boost the export of football education.

In 2023–24, Australia’s broader education sector brought in $51.03 billion in export income, making it the country’s fourth-largest export industry.

In fact, in just June 2023 alone, education exports added $10.8 billion to the national economy.

With the right support, Football Australia could tap into this space by developing and exporting football education programs—such as coaching courses, youth development systems, and sports science frameworks—to overseas markets.

For instance, a formalised Football Australia Coaching Curriculum could be licensed or sold internationally.

Germany offers a successful example: the German Football Association (DFB) regularly hosts coaching workshops and certification courses for international coaches.

Twice a year, the DFB runs programs for coaches from Africa, Asia, and the Americas, helping them earn A and B licenses. If Australia were to take a similar approach, the financial benefits could be substantial.

Just like traditional education exports, football education could grow into a valuable niche industry. Beyond revenue, such investment would also help develop homegrown expertise.

By focusing on football education, Australia could build a strong domestic pipeline of skilled professionals in coaching, sports technology, and high-performance management.

In short, government support for exporting football education could deliver long-term returns—economically and in developing global football leadership from within Australia.

Tech Industry:

Another reason for the government to invest in football is its potential to boost Australia’s tech industry. At first glance, funding Football Australia might not seem like it has much to do with tech, but there are actually several ways this kind of investment could benefit the broader technology sector.

According to the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) 2024 Sports Innovation Report, Australia’s sports tech industry is now worth $4.69 billion — a more than 10% increase from the previous year.

ASTN also notes that the sportstech sector in Australia is moving into its “maturity stage” — a phase where strong investor interest and high profitability are expected.

This is something the government could help accelerate by supporting football.

One example is the development of smart stadiums.

This involves installing technologies like AI-powered analytics and high-speed 5G networks to enhance fan experiences, improve stadium operations, and support the growth of connected sports environments.

Smart stadiums aren’t a new concept in Australia — Sydney’s Allianz Stadium is a great example — but continued government investment could help the country catch up with leaders like the U.S. and the U.K. in this space.

Other areas of sportstech include AI and data analytics, particularly for player performance and injury prevention.

Investment in this area would drive demand for data scientists, software engineers, and AI specialists.

There’s also the potential for digital fan engagement, backing AR/VR, apps, and gamified fan platforms to stimulate software and gaming sectors, all of this adds up to some major benefits.

Financially, it could boost tech exports, attract international partnerships, and bring in foreign investment.

On a broader scale, it could help raise Australia’s profile as a global hub for sports tech innovation.

Plus, it would promote diversity, inclusion, and public interest in tech — helping to build a stronger, more future-ready economy.

So, by investing in football, the Australian government can not only support a beloved national sport but also accelerate the growth of a thriving sports tech industry — driving innovation, job creation, and global competitiveness in the process.

Stronger Ties with Asia:

A final reason for the government to invest in football is that it can help strengthen Australia’s ties with Asia.

Back in 2006, Football Australia made the strategic decision to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) — even though it was a founding member — and join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The move was driven by the difficulty of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup through the OFC, where Australia often had to win tough intercontinental play-offs.

Joining the AFC gave Australia a more direct path to qualification through Asia’s automatic spots — and nearly two decades later, the Socceroos have qualified for every World Cup since.

Now by increasing investment in football, the Australian government isn’t just supporting the sport locally — it’s also using it as a smart way to build stronger diplomatic, cultural, and economic connections with countries across Asia.

It gives the Australian government a chance to use sport as a tool for international engagement, particularly major events like the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which Australia will host.

The tournament is expected to draw over 24,000 international visitors and reach hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

More importantly, it offers a platform for Australia to create lasting connections with countries across Asia — both on and off the pitch.

Football Australia’s “Securing our Football Futurepolicy highlights how the government can use this event to support sports diplomacy initiatives — by building formal partnerships with other AFC nations.

There are plenty of benefits to this kind of regional engagement through football.

Hosting international matches and tournaments helps bring in tourists and showcases Australia as both a sporting powerhouse and a culturally inclusive nation.

Supporting Football Australia also reinforces the country’s leadership role in the region — aligning with broader foreign policy goals to integrate more deeply with Asia’s growing economies and communities.

Conclusion:

So, increased government investment in Football Australia could deliver far-reaching benefits, not just strengthening grassroots sport but also boosting economic sectors like education, technology and enhancing regional ties with Asia.

By recognising football as more than just a game, Australia has the opportunity to turn it into a powerful engine for innovation, diplomacy, and national growth.

NSW synthetic fields guideline: securing the future of sport

As demand for sporting fields continues to increase, NSW’s new guidelines for synthetic fields are a welcome manual to the decision-making behind the management and implementation of these fields. Though the question of how it tackles this critical issue persists.

Just this month, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure released its Synthetic Turf Sports Fields in Public Open Space: Guideline for Decision-Makers.

A comprehensive study that outlines the application of creating more community-based synthetic fields in NSW, backed up by former NSW reports.

The Guideline is broken up into two chapters:

  • Section 2: Decision making for sports field surfaces – provides key information, considerations, and resources to help inform the decision-making process for selecting a sports field surface. This includes the pressures on public open space, the types of surfaces available to meet community needs, and the social, environmental, health, and economic considerations.
  • Section 3: Guide for synthetic turf sports fields – provides advice for projects considering and developing synthetic turf sports fields. It guides the reader on how to achieve best practice when planning, designing, delivering, and managing synthetic turf assets.

As stated in this guideline, it was produced due to the necessary need for synthetic fields to be created to keep up with a number of sporting demands.

Majorly, a growing increase in population of the state, with the population of NSW forecast to grow by 85,000 people each year, reaching 9.8 million by 2041 as outlined in the guideline.

There is also the need for reliable and safe sporting facilities for the community, making the demand and capacity of these fields necessary.

Just last year Football NSW and its associations were facing the tough reality of weather impacts as a winter of heavy rain made many of the natural grass fields unplayable.

With too few synthetic fields to use state wide, thousands of players over the state had shortened seasons and struggling management of the scheduling was met with a huge discourse of disappointment.

As is the nature of Australian sport, many codes must compete for very little space, especially when these spaces are council owned. The preparing of this is no easy task and central to this guideline.

This guideline is comprehensive and valuable for the creation of desperately needed synthetic fields.

The document combines the importance of balancing sustainability, functionality and community needs when considering synthetic turf for sports fields.

This can only be achieved through thoughtful stakeholder engagement in planning to creating multi-faceted spaces with a strong guideline of principles to make the decision of development.

This is a successful start and a very important document for the functional push for more synthetic fields and a huge step forward in providing the grounds for the production for more sporting facilities.

However, one problem is evident. The speed of production of synthetic fields, like any development, cannot fit the speed of demand.

This report importantly outlines the need of all fields is evident and also the ways in which these decisions should be made for synthetic or not. The case study of Allan Border oval in the paper is a perfect example.

Though another case study is an example in the Northern Beaches of Sydney displays the growing situation in another sense.

A local football summer competition called Small Sided Game (SSG) has voiced concerns about its reduced space allocation as the council decided for the coming playing season. Usually played on several grass fields, as it has been classified as a high-impact sport has been reserved to a singular synthetic field for the upcoming season.

The business has calculated that this would mean the loss of around 1000 participants from an average 3,500 participant strong season. A tough reality for the business as it loses such a large part of its revenue.

It is also a huge loss for the community as a thriving local business and summer sport will be considerably constrained and many people will be missing out on this vital activity.

Other environmental and health issues are associated with synthetic fields, such as the impact of injuries on the surface and the dangerous presence of carcinogenic microplastics.

Synthetic fields contribute to plastic migration and rising local temperatures, as heat islands effects potentially worsening soil and water pollution.

These issues have been presented in the guidelines and its relative supporting studies; therefore, they are factored into the overall guideline.

The problem remains, sports a vital part of our Australian culture and community needs to be able to grow physically with its demand.

Yet, is a synthetic revolution the only option?

Natural turf, available in many areas already, needs to be more effectively maintained and preserved, not just due to the logistical demands but for the community and environment demands, grass fields are crucial.

The NSW government needs to find a way to encourage the creation of synthetic fields but also more effectively maintain existing grass fields in a multi-pronged approach.

Football Australia’s $3 billion plan presented to the federal government has stated the need for funding in the growing demand. Synthetic fields and field upgrades is central to this request.

This document is the perfect start to push the necessary development process in the coming years, in conjunction with a multi-pronged approach with quick relief for existing fields and longer development for which synthetic fields is needed.

Otherwise, if situations like the one happening with SSG will continue to affect our communities, the participants who are the backbone of Australian sporting community are the ones who take the biggest hit.

The positive impact of leisure activities on physical, mental and communal health cannot be understated.

If maintaining access to sport — one of Australia’s most important cultural pillars — requires investment, then it must be made. Especially for football, the most played sport in both NSW and the nation.

There are little other endeavours that could trump its importance.

You can read the full report here.

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