WestInvest a facility game changer in Western Sydney

Staff Writer
WestInvest
Image credit: Football NSW

Clubs in Western Sydney are reaping a facility transformation thanks to the NSW Government’s $5 billion WestInvest program.

Facilities, as well as communities, will receive improved and more easy-to-use resources that form a transformational infrastructure project as a whole.

In total, over $333 million is being invested into facilities where football is or will be a key user of the facility.

Among the clubs to see positive change are Nepean, Southern Districts, Macarthur, Hills, and Canterbury.

The projects go towards upgrading amenity buildings to ensure changerooms are female friendly, natural turf field refurbishments, new indoor multi-sport indoor centres for the Futsal community, synthetic fields, and completely new venues.

Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas said via press release:

“Investment into infrastructure is critical for the largest team-based sport in NSW.

“Only 25% of football changerooms across NSW are female friendly, this injection of funding will help increase this percentage.

“Football demand is already exceeding facility supply, the funding from WestInvest will ensure boys and girls across Western Sydney won’t miss out on playing football.

“We’d like to thank the NSW State Government for their continued support.”

Full details of projects per council are listed below:

Blue Mountains

  • $1.6 million for Blue Mountains City Council to deliver the $1.8 million upgrade of South Lawson Park which will convert a former golf course into a new district level park.

Burwood

  • $2.7 million for the Henley Park Sports Field Upgrade which will revitalise two aged sports fields to improve sport and recreational facilities

Campbelltown

  • $16.7 million for Campbelltown City Council to deliver the Sport and Health Centre of Excellence at Leumeah, in partnership with Western Sydney University, the Macarthur Bulls, Wests Tigers and the South-West Sydney Academy of Sport;
  • $2.8 million for Campbelltown City Council to deliver the Amenities Upgrade Eschol Park Sporting Complex

Camden

  • $21.3 million to deliver the Scalabrini East – Pat Konista Active Open Space and Community Facilities. This project will deliver essential sports, community, green and open space infrastructure in Leppington;
  • $14 million for the Cut Hill Reserve Sports Field Redevelopment project that will renew 18.5 hectares of public open space to deliver new recreation opportunities.

Cumberland

  • $53.7 million for Cumberland Council to deliver the New Hyland Road Sporting Complex into a precinct for indoor and outdoor sport including netball, AFL, football, cricket, baseball, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, basketball, volleyball and badminton;

Fairfield

  • $6.3 million for Fairfield City Council to deliver the $6.5 million Brenan Park project which will deliver more spaces for sports and adventure play for all ages.
  • more than $28 million in WestInvest funding will go towards the $46.5 million Fairfield Showground Stage 2 – Indoor Sports Centre.
  • $16 million for Fairfield City Council to upgrade the Endeavour Sports Park with a new synthetic field, sized for two soccer pitches, an AFL or a cricket pitch;

Hawkesbury

  • $9.8 million for the Hawkesbury City Council to deliver the Tamplin Field Redevelopment project which will include a new synthetic field with off-field grassed spaces to enable games and events through all weather conditions.
  • $4.6 million towards the $9.87 million Fernadell Park and Community Facility development project to deliver new sporting facilities to encourage women and young people to get active.

Hills

  • $1 million for the Hills Shire Council to deliver the Fred Caterson Reserve – Fields 1, 2 & 3 Upgrade and Refurbishment project in Castle Hill

Parramatta

  • $3.8 million for the Max Ruddock Reserve Amenities Modernisation with viewing platform project to upgrade a 50-year-old building to support growth in local sport.
  • $5.6 million for the City of Parramatta Council to deliver the North Granville Community Open Space Upgrade project which will upgrade FS Garside Park and construct a natural turf football field and install new sports field lighting, seating, and a regional sized playground.
  • $8.7 million for the City of Parramatta Council to deliver the Strengthening the Heart of Play project in North Parramatta

Penrith

  • $106.7 million for Penrith City Council to deliver the Indoor Multi Sports Facility project in Claremont Meadows.
  • $19.1 million for Penrith City Council to deliver the Cook Park Precinct Sport, Play, Grandstand & Mixed Recreation project in St Marys. The project will include a new amenities building, extended grandstand with spectator viewing facilities, a new synthetic playing surface, a walking circuit with pedestrian lighting, tree planting and landscaping.
  • $1.7 million for Penrith City Council to deliver the Andromeda Oval Storage, Sports Surface & Carpark Improvements project which will upgrade storage amenities at the existing facility, improved drainage and surface work to the eastern playing fields, upgrade to the existing multisport surfaces for netball and basketball and an extension to the existing car park.
  • $7 million towards the $41 million Gipps Street Recreation Precinct project to transform a 32-hectare former landfill site in Claremont Meadows into a multipurpose open space facility for the community.

Wollondilly

  • $5.2 million for Wollondilly Shire Council to upgrade the Waterboard Oval in Warragamba with new and improved facilities to accommodate soccer, cricket, AFL and various court sports.
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Football Queensland to celebrate Female Football Week with statewide events, awards and coaching programs

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Brighton women's football motion
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football Queensland will mark the 2026 Female Football Week with a program of statewide events, competitions and professional development opportunities running from May 8-17, as the governing body continues to push for broader access and representation across all levels of the women’s game in Queensland.

The nationwide initiative, now a fixture on the Australian football calendar, provides a concentrated period of visibility for female participation across playing, coaching, officiating and administration: areas where structural underrepresentation has historically limited both the growth of the game and the opportunities available to women and girls within it.

“Female Football Week provides us with a valuable opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women and girls across our game while continuing to increase the accessibility of football in Queensland,” said Football Queensland CEO Robert Cavallucci. “We encourage our clubs to host their own Female Football Week events and activations for female participants.”

 

Elite Competition Meets Community Access

The centrepiece of Football Queensland’s program is the return of the NPL Women’s Magic Round to Nudgee Recreation Reserve on May 8 and 9, featuring five NPL Women’s Round 13 clashes alongside a Girls United Junior Carnival and family-friendly activations. Each Magic Round game will feature an all-female refereeing panel, a deliberate and visible commitment to developing the next generation of female match officials at a moment when referee shortages are among the most pressing structural challenges facing the game nationally.

A Women in Football networking event will be held on the opening night of Magic Round, bringing together coaches, match officials and administrators. The inclusion of that event alongside elite competition is significant because it positions professional development and community building not as supplementary activities but as core components of what Female Football Week is for.

The Central Coast region will host its own Magic Round on May 16, featuring a Youth Girls game and three FQPL Central Coast Women’s matches, while a Darling Downs Junior Girls Day will take place at Captain Cook Park on the same day, extending the reach of the week’s programming beyond the southeast corner of the state into regional Queensland.

 

Coaching access as a structural priority

Football Queensland will deliver a series of female-only coaching courses around Female Football Week, with clubs also able to express interest in hosting their own. The initiative addresses one of the most persistent barriers to female representation in football administration- its coaching pipeline.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of the game in Australia, and the barriers to accreditation, including cost, availability and the cultural environment of mixed coaching courses, compound one another in ways that individual ambition alone cannot overcome. Female-only courses create environments where women can develop without those barriers, and their delivery during Female Football Week signals that the commitment extends beyond celebration into structural change.

The Girls United Carnivals, running in both Metro and Far North and Gulf regions alongside the Q-League Schools program at Meakin Park, extend that access to players at the earliest stages of their football journey.

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

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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.”

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