“It bewilders me that there is a cost barrier for the best young talent to a national tournament” – FV Interim CEO Dan Birrell on Emerging Soccerroos and football’s cost barrier

Avatar
Image Credit: Mark Avellino Photography

In Episode 11 of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast, Football Victoria Interim CEO Dan Birrell explores his previous roles in football operations, how the new media team will market the game better in this state and the next steps to ensure more stability in the organisation.

One particular hot talking point was the discussion around the cost barrier of playing football in this state, particularly for young kids.

Birrell spoke about the recent Emerging Socceroos Championships and how the fact each participant had to pay thousands of dollars ‘bewildered’ him.

“I think [this issue] is two-fold. We had the Emerging Socceroos Championships in Bundoora at the Home of the Matildas which came at a cost. This is the best young talent in Australia in u15’s and 16’s, and they had to pay several thousands of dollars to compete,” he said on the podcast.

“I’m thinking as the CEO that it still bewilders me a little bit that there is such a cost implication or a cost barrier to get the best young talent to a national tournament.

“They weren’t staying at The Hilton or The Ritz-Carlton; they were staying at La Trobe University dorms eating dorm food. That lead us to talk with the other CEO’s and Football Australia about the cost to play and the barrier of participation.”

Birrell also spoke about what Football Victoria are doing about clubs who set exorbitant prices for annual paying fees and how to communicate it better.

“The other thing that we do need to do is that there are probably still clubs, because there is no maximum to what you can charge, that we need to hold to account,” he added.

“I don’t mean that in a negative sense, I just mean introducing a value index which I am a big fan of making this happen over the next six months in advance of next year.

“It means having all of our clubs sending through what their registration fees are, publishing those and going ‘well this is what registration fees are for clubs A, B, C and D and what they offer in terms of coaching and what the fees cover. Then it speaks to a different story.”

Football Victoria are assessing the current problem with expensive playing fees and also making sure they give clubs with a low-cost barrier of entry a voice, by highlighting them more through the value index that Dan Birrell mentions.

Click hear the full interview with Dan Birrell, on Episode 11 of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast – available on all major podcasting platforms.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Football South Australia renews partnership with Datacord as Community Football Commitment Deepens

Avatar
Image Credit: Football SA

Football South Australia has announced the renewal of its partnership with Datacord, continuing a relationship that has grown steadily since the South Australian print and document solutions provider first entered the football community as naming rights sponsor of the Collegiate Soccer League Division 1.

That initial agreement, which saw Datacord align with one of Adelaide’s most historic amateur competitions, marked the beginning of what has since developed into a broader commitment to South Australian football at every level. The renewed partnership extends Datacord’s involvement beyond the CSL and into the wider Football SA ecosystem, with clubs across the state now able to access exclusive offers and preferred pricing on photocopying, managed print services and tailored business solutions.

The practical value of that access should not be understated. Community football clubs operate on tight margins, relying heavily on volunteer administrators managing everything from registration paperwork to grant applications. Cost-effective print and document solutions reduce the operational burden on those volunteers, a small but meaningful contribution to the sustainability of clubs that form the backbone of the game in South Australia.

“George is a great supporter of sport in South Australia and we are delighted to have Datacord as a supporter of football,” said Football SA CEO Michael Carter. “Service is second to none and we highly recommend their services to the business community within the Football Family.”

For Datacord Managing Director George Koutsoubis, the renewal reflects a genuine investment in the community rather than a transactional commercial arrangement. “It is important to support the local community, and Football South Australia is the perfect place to start spreading the word about Datacord and what we do for the South Australian community,” he said. “We are locally owned and operated, and I think it is a great partnership to be part of.”

Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

Avatar
The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend