Victoria onside for Women’s World Cup bid

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The Victorian Government has confirmed they will support Australia’s bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

If Australia was to win the hosting rights, there are plans in place to play five games at AAMI Park during the five-week tournament.

Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula, claimed a significant event like the Women’s World Cup was a perfect fit for Melbourne.

“Melbourne loves putting on a show and the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ is as big as it gets in women’s sport,” Minister Pakula said.

“Major events and sport are synonymous with Victoria – we are proud to be playing our role with Football Federation Australia in the bid to win the rights to host what will be an amazing month on the global calendar.”

Australia’s bid book will be officially submitted to FIFA next month, with talks still continuing with Football New Zealand about the possibility of a joint bid.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup will be the largest ever, with 32 teams competing and 64 games being played between July and August.

FIFA is expected to announce the host of the tournament in May 2020.

FFA chairman Chris Nikou was ecstatic that the Victorian government had pledged their support behind Australia’s quest to host the Women’s World Cup.

“Victoria is a world leader in delivering major sporting tournaments and it makes perfect sense that they are part of our bid to host the world’s largest women’s sporting event here in Australia,” Mr Nikou said.

“Our bid for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 is set to have huge economic benefits for the nation, and profound social impacts in communities across the country.

“Just as importantly, the opportunity to secure a lasting legacy for women’s sport in growing participation, building facilities, driving greater opportunities for women to be leaders in the game and building pathways for the next generation of Westfield Matildas will last for generations.

“I congratulate the Minister and his Government for joining us in partnership to deliver the best World Cup women’s football has seen. We are excited about submitting a compelling bid to FIFA and hosting a World Cup that fans and players will never forget.

“Victoria and its passion for football are very much at the heart of our bid,” Mr Nikou concluded.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

Launched in 2024, the research project recently welcomed two US-based organisations: the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

 

About Project ACL

Led by FIFPRO, PFA England, Nike and Leeds Beckett University, Project ACL aims to research ACL injuries and understand more about multifactorial risk factors.

After piloting in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Project ACL will expand to the NWSL in the US, reflecting the global importance of the project’s research and outcome.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and NWSL to Project ACL,” said Director of Women’s Football at FIFPRO, Dr. Alex Culvin, via official press release.

“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organisers and stakeholdersaround the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”

Interviews with over 30 players and team surveys across all 12 WSL clubs provided the project’s research team with valuable information about current prevention strategies and available resources.

Furthermore, the project tracks player workload and busy schedule periods during the season through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool, therefore gaining insights into the link between scheduling and injury risks.

 

Looking to the data

Project ACL’s partnerships with the WSL – and now the NWSL – are immensely valuable for the future of player welfare in women’s football.

Although ACL injuries affect both male and female athletes, they are twice as likely to occur in women than men. However, according to the NWSL, as little as 8% of sports science research focuses on female athletes.

In Australia, several CommBank Matildas suffered ACL injuries in recent years: Sam Kerr was sidelined from January 2024 to September 2025, Ellie Carpenter for 8 months after suffering the injury while playing for Olympique Lyonnais, and Holly McNamara came back from three ACL’s aged 15, 18 and 20.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2025/26 ALW season saw several ACL incidents, including four in just two weeks.

 

Research, prevent, protect

Injury prevention and research are vital to sport – whether professional or amateur.

But when the numbers are so shocking – and incidents are so common – governing bodies must remember that player welfare comes above all else. Research can inform prevention strategies. Prevention means players can enjoy the game they love.

The work of Project ACL, continuing until 2027, will hopefully protect countless players across women’s football from suffering long-term or recurring injuries.

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.

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