Wolfsburg rank as the Bundesliga’s most sustainable club

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Bundesliga side VFL Wolfsburg have been ranked as the German top-flight’s most environmentally sustainable club.

In a report conducted by Sport Positive, Wolfsburg led the organisation’s sustainability table with a maximum 21 points out of a possible 21, pipping German giants Bayern Munich by 4 points.

Points were measured across a variety of categories including clean energy, energy efficiency and transport sustainability. Clubs also received points based on their water efficiency, plant-based/low carbon food, reduction or removal of single-use plastic, waste management, water efficiency and communication & engagement regarding sustainability.

The report highlighted Wolfsburg’s dedication to implementing 100 per cent green energy across the club by using bioplastic cups and for ensuring zero landfill waste, whilst offering vegan options at their stadium on game-day. In addition, Wolfsburg’s website contains a corporate responsibility page with information about climate protection and environmental initiatives.

Wolfsburg have also signed up to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and have set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2025.

Michael Meeske, Wolfsburg’s managing director, noted how football has the power to stimulate change in society.

“Sustainability is one of the greatest challenges facing society,” he said.

“For football – with its power to change – this means not only an obligation, but also a responsibility. Therefore, we are very happy to lead the German ranking and this is also a motivation to take our next steps.”

The German club’s success follows Sport Positive’s naming of Tottenham Hotspur as the most sustainable English club in the Premier League back in January. Sport Positive will be publishing rankings for Ligue 1, La Liga, Serie A and UEFA Champions League clubs later this year.

“The aim of our table is to encourage the commitment and activity of the clubs in order to increase their commitment to sustainability and their ambitions for climate action,” Claire Poole said, founder of Sport Positive.

“Although we award points on this basis and evaluate the clubs, this is only done to simplify the presentation and communication. We do not want to play the clubs off against each other and see this work as a joint effort in which we have to come together. No single organisation can win the fight against climate change on its own.”

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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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