Victorian clubs vow to ‘Save Clifton Park’

Liam Watson
Clifton Park
Image credit: Richard Breen

On Wednesday August 31, a ‘Save Our Park’ barbeque will be held to raise awareness for what a community’s future holds.

Located in Brunswick, Clifton Park is one of the most used facilities for the locals in the metropolitan Melbourne suburb. Part of the appeal is the current playing surface, which is made up of pure synthetic material and will not suffer major damage from wear and tear.

However, a complication has arisen, with the contrary view from councillors of their plan to rip up the trusty synthetic and replace it – prompting fear from clubs who believe the playing surface is not one that should make way.

The main sticking point is where to spend a budgeted $650,000 in 2023-24. Instead of resurfacing Clifton Park with general maintenance, the money is intended to go towards getting rid of the synthetic and replacing it with natural turf.

Two of the clubs involved in the campaign – Pascoe Vale FC and Brunswick Zebras – are united in the view that eradicating the synthetic is not the solution, and that councillors need to listen to valuable opinions of those at the heart of the facility and know the ins and outs of its value.

It is hoped that the upcoming get together on Wednesday night will be a turning point in what would work towards an ideal outcome, where Pascoe Vale FC Chairman Lou Tona is one of the supporters.

“We’d love it if the entire football community could come down and support the Clifton Park pitch,” he said to Soccerscene.

“It’s an important piece of infrastructure that we want to keep – we’re not asking for another playing surface, it’s just to maintain the one we’ve got.

“We desperately need it because normal grounds cannot cope and leads to cancellations of training, across all codes.

“The synthetic pitch is required and we can’t afford for it to be taken away.”

Part of the argument for the proposed synthetic pitch removal is concerns surrounding the harm that it may cause, related to health and the environment.

This was outlined by Cr Angelica Panopoulos of the Greens:

“By June 2023, Council will develop a report concerning the damaging effects that synthetic materials like fake grass have on human health and the environment, such as urban heat, excess water usage and plastic waste,” Panopoulos said in a statement.

While the statement covers genuine issues, it does not factor in community and sporting needs that Clifton Park best serves.

Essentially, there needs to be a more widespread view on what contributes to health and environment problems, rather than signalling out the synthetic pitch as a problem.

In a statement by Brunswick Zebras – another club backing the campaign – it is all about doing further research on the pros and cons of synthetic before deciding on a knee-jerk reaction.

“Clifton Park synthetic has become a valuable shared facility due to both wet weather and past droughts. This year our club’s ability to cater for the growing demand of natural playing fields has been tested, compounded by the poor maintenance and repair of our three natural turf fields at Balfe, Sumner and Ryder Parks,” they said.

“It has been claimed that the $650,000 for the upgrade could instead be used to demolish the Clifton Park synthetic and replace it with a natural turf. The claim is that this new pitch would have between 40 and 60 hours of carrying capacity – currently our grounds are considered to have a carrying capacity of 20 to 25 hours per week.

“As a Club we would like this claim tested on an upgraded existing football field, not used as an excuse to demolish the synthetic.”

Pascoe Vale and Brunswick Zebras are just two of a multitude of clubs set to come together on Wednesday night.

They encourage anyone who opposes the synthetic pitch removal to head down to Clifton Park for a BBQ from 6pm, with the meeting a sign of solidarity for an important cause.

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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.

Victorian State Budget delivers $750,000 to football facilities as governing body signals more to come

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Two of Victoria’s most prominent football clubs have secured a combined $750,000 in facility funding from the 2026 Victorian State Budget, in what Football Victoria describes as the beginning of a broader set of announcements for the sport from this year’s budget cycle.

Avondale FC will receive $500,000 to install lighting at Avenger Park in Avondale Heights, while Hume City FC has secured $250,000 for major upgrades at Nasiol Stadium in Broadmeadows, including a new LED scoreboard and improved lighting infrastructure. Both clubs compete in the Victorian National Premier Leagues and serve large multicultural communities in Melbourne’s north and northwest.

The announcements are modest in scale relative to the infrastructure deficit facing community and semi-professional football across the state, but their political significance extends beyond the dollar figures. They represent a tangible return on Football Victoria’s sustained advocacy campaign, which includes the Level the Playing Field parliamentary petition calling for more equitable government funding for football relative to other codes.

Facilities as Equity Infrastructure

The Avondale funding addresses a problem that has constrained the club’s operations for years. Avenger Park currently cannot be used at night, forcing the club to play matches at neighbouring venues or arrange temporary lighting for significant fixtures, including last year’s Hahn Australia Cup tie. The $500,000 investment will allow the club to host evening matches and training sessions on its own ground for the first time, removing a structural disadvantage that has affected scheduling, participation and the overall experience for hundreds of players each week.

For Hume City, the implications carry a specific equity dimension. Club President Ersan Gulum noted that upgraded lighting and facilities would directly support the growth of the club’s girls’ and women’s programs by providing better access to training environments and creating more opportunities for female participation.

“We have hundreds of players across all age groups utilising these facilities each week, and these improvements will help create an even stronger environment for excellence, participation, and community engagement,” Gulum said.

The connection between lighting and women’s football access is not incidental. Inadequate or absent lighting at community grounds disproportionately affects female programs, which have expanded rapidly in recent years but frequently find themselves scheduled into daytime slots because evening use of the facility is not viable. Infrastructure that enables night training and matches does not merely improve conditions. It expands the hours during which the ground can be used, directly increasing the number of teams and players a facility can serve.

The Political Context

Both clubs are located in state electorates where local members played an active role in securing the funding. Avondale celebrated the announcement with Parliamentary Secretary Sheena Watt, while Hume City acknowledged the support of local members in its public statement.

The pattern is familiar in Australian sports funding. Facility grants flow through electorate-level political relationships as much as through any centralised allocation process. Football Victoria’s acknowledgement of both Merri-Bek and Hume City Councils, in addition to the state government, reflects the layered advocacy required to move funding from budget allocation to ground-level construction.

Football Victoria CEO Dan Birrell praised both clubs and pointed toward further announcements.

“Both Avondale and Hume City are pillars in the Victorian football landscape, building strong and supportive communities around their top level junior and senior football programs,” Birrell said. “Professional level facilities like Avenger Park and Nasiol Stadium are critical for the development of Victorian football.”

Football Victoria has indicated more budget-related football announcements are forthcoming and has urged supporters to sign the Level the Playing Field petition ahead of the next Victorian State Election.

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