Will Australian football sink or swim in 2020?

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A blockbuster calendar provides Australian football with huge opportunities over the next eleven months.

Last week, in what will be music to the ears of new FFA CEO James Johnson, the Olyroos passed a very important test.

The under-23 national team defeated Uzbekistan in the third-place playoff match at the AFC U-23 Championship, thanks to a solo effort from Nick D’Agostino.

Therefore, for the first time in 12 years, Australia will have a men’s football side competing at the Olympic games in Tokyo.

Discussions have already begun around who will be picked for the tournament, as Graham Arnold can also call up three over-age players for the tournament in late July.

The Copa America which Australia will be a part of this year will also factor into Graham Arnold’s decision making.

The South American continental championship also begins a month before the Olympics and the narrow time-frame between both tournaments poses a lot of questions for the Australian coach.

Will he choose a full-strength squad for the Copa America? Which tournament does he favour? Who will be the over-age players in the Olympic squad? Will the likes of Ryan and Mooy play in both tournaments? Or will their English Premier League clubs’ frown upon that?

These are good headaches to have, with exposure to these tournaments crucial for not only youth development but also to build the profile of Australia’s national teams.

Commercially, the FFA seems to be struggling in recent times with sponsors such as NAB and Caltex ending their partnerships with the governing body.

Participating in worldwide tournaments such as this can only improve the FFA’s situation, as potential sponsors see attractive possibilities.

Whilst the men’s teams may not stand a good chance of placing well in either of these tournaments, the Matildas do.

Unlike the men’s tournament, the women have no age restrictions placed on them at the Olympics, meaning Australia’s top players such as Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley are all expected to play.

Australia’s favourite national sporting team playing at the Olympics in a good time zone for Australian viewers, should lead to considerable corporate sponsorship interest.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The women’s national team are yet to qualify for the Olympics, with qualifiers for the tournament set to be held in Sydney next week.

The qualifiers were under threat due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which was the reason the games were shifted to Sydney in the first place.

The qualifying tournament will go ahead next week, which will boost the coffers at FFA HQ, with games to be played at Campbelltown and Bankwest Stadium.

However, of greater focus to the FFA is the successful hosting of the tournament on such short notice and impressing FIFA in the year the host of the 2023 Women’s World Cup will be announced.

The announcement of the host for 2023 is due in June, with Japan, Colombia and Brazil vying for the honour (alongside Australia and New Zealand’s co-bid).

If the tournament hosting rights were to be won by Australia and New Zealand, FFA would be rubbing their hands together with glee at the long-term benefits that would have on the sport.

But first, Chinese Taipei at home on Thursday and hopefully one step closer to having both male and female teams at the Olympic Games.

And I haven’t even mentioned the road to Qatar 2022…

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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Image Credit: SCFC

South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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