Victorian Parliament Establishes Parliamentary Friends of Football Group

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Image credit: Football Victoria

Football Victoria has confirmed the establishment of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Football, co-chaired by Anthony Cianflone MP and John Pesutto MP.

The group aims to champion football within Victorian Parliament to provide a platform for MP engagement in the football community, as well as boost future opportunities for participation and investment.

The Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Football’s will also assist in productive engagement between policymakers, Football Victoria, football clubs and key stakeholders to build on the sport’s development, infrastructure, visibility in the state and community impact.

John Pesutto MP, mentioned by stating his belief as an elected representative, he’s responsible for supporting football at every level.

“From my earliest memories, football has been a part of my life in one way or another – as it has for so many others,” he said via press release.

“I am proud to be co-founding and supporting the Parliamentary Friends of Football Victoria and hope that as parliamentarians we can all support football’s growth and highlight the sport’s positive social, cultural and economic impact in Victoria.”

Football Victoria CEO, Dan Birrell, has welcomed the parliamentary group’s initiative towards a larger access to football for all.

“Football Victoria looks forward to working closely with MPs across the political spectrum to ensure every Victorian; regardless of background, gender, or postcode; has the opportunity to play football, access quality facilities and enjoy the many benefits of the world game,” he said via FV press release.

The group will have an official launch on 11 September, at a special event in Victorian Parliament alongside MPs, football leaders and community representatives of the sport.

The launch will coincide with the release of Football Victoria’s Facilities Strategy 2025-2035, a document which thoroughly looks into infrastructure and investments needed for the state’s strong demand for football.

The initiative and audit started by Football Victoria, and in collaboration with insideEDGE Sport & Leisure Planning, is set to inject much-needed upgrades into sporting venues across the state, including regional and rural areas.

The release of the document and the establishment of the parliamentary group will benefit clubs and venues that host football teams at all levels, many of which have previously missed out on essential funding and support.

By pinpointing and funding Victoria’s most underrepresented sporting clubs, the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Football and Football Victoria can enrich the state’s sporting community throughout the 10-year roadmap promised by the football body.

Football Victoria’s Facilities Strategy 2025-2035 will be released 1 October 2025.

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Capital Football Introduces Pink Armband to Protect Junior Referees

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Image Credit: Marist Canberra FC

Capital Football has launched a visible identification program for referees under 18, requiring them to wear a pink armband during matches. It’s intended to build awareness surrounding the concern across Australian football about the abuse driving young officials out of the game.

The Pink Armband Initiative, effective immediately across Capital Football’s competitions in the ACT and surrounding region, makes junior referees identifiable to players, coaches and spectators. The federation says the marker is designed to set clear behavioural expectations and signal that many match officials are minors still developing their skills.

Capital Football acknowledged a referee crisis as far back as 2022, at which point it restructured its entire referee department in partnership with Football Australia. The pink armband program is the latest layer of that response; this time by targeting the cultural conditions on match day rather than systems of recruitment and pay.

A problem that spans codes and states

Research has consistently linked referee abuse to declining retention rates, with officials quitting in growing numbers due to sustained mistreatment, a trend researchers warn will reduce the pool of skilled match officials available at all levels of the game. Studies also show that young, less experienced referees are disproportionately likely to be subject to abuse.

Capital Football is not alone in reaching for a visible solution. Similar programs operate across Football Queensland, Football South Australia, Football South Coast and several other federations, while Basketball Victoria and Basketball South Australia have adopted comparable measures through the Green Whistle initiative. The spread of these programs across codes and states reflects a shared administrative problem: many grassroots referees are teenagers and volunteers who do not officiate for money but because they love the game, and abuse is eroding that foundation.

For a federation overseeing nearly 29,000 registered players, fewer referees means fewer matches. Fewer matches means reduced participation. The pink armband is a low-cost intervention with structural consequences if it works.

Football Victoria Backs Campaign to Shield Junior Players from Gambling Harm

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More than 600 sporting clubs across Victoria have enrolled in a state government program designed to limit young players’ exposure to gambling, with Football Victoria now urging its community clubs to join before a late-July registration deadline.

The Love the Game initiative asks clubs to formally commit to a set of principles: refusing sports betting sponsorships, developing internal harm prevention policies, and building environments where coaches, parents and players are equipped to discuss gambling risks with children.

The program’s public health rationale has a sharper statistical edge than its community-facing materials suggest. A 2025 study of Victorian secondary school students aged 12 to 17 found that nearly 30% had gambled at some point, and among those who had gambled in the past year, 7.5% met the criteria for problem-gambling and a further 26.8% were classified as ‘at-risk’. The research, commissioned by the state government and published earlier this year, also found that students exposed to gambling venues and advertising were more likely to gamble or to do so in a risky manner.

The most recent Victorian Population Gambling Study found that Victorians aged 18 to 24 are the group least likely to gamble overall, yet carry the highest rates of harmful gambling across all age groups. Young people aged 18 to 34 are around five times more likely to bet on sports than older cohorts.

When the data lands at the clubhouse door

Football Victoria’s support for the program reflects a broader recognition within community sport that participation rates and club culture are connected. The environments clubs create shape whether young people stay in sport and what norms they carry with them into adulthood. For football specifically, which draws participants across a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, that responsibility is not evenly distributed. Approximately 440,000 Victorians, or 8.5 per cent of the state’s population, are classified as being at some risk of experiencing problem gambling.

The Victorian Government’s program gives clubs more than symbolic membership. Registered clubs receive practical tools to develop governance frameworks around gambling harm, resources for coaching staff and volunteers, and standing as part of a growing network of clubs taking a formal position on the issue.

Researchers have described the current framing of gambling harm as a matter of personal responsibility as inadequate, arguing it is a public health issue requiring a systemic response. Community football clubs, with their reach into households across the state, are one of the institutional levers available to make that response visible.

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