The number of women and girls playing football has risen to record numbers, as football participation in Australia climbed to more than 1.95 million in 2019.
In the national football census released today by Football Federation Australia (FFA), the number of females playing the most popular club-based participation sport in the country rose by 11%.
FFA Chief Executive Officer James Johnson welcomed the results of the census that highlighted significant increases across a number of areas, including social football and among coaches and volunteers.
Football Australia has received a 3-star membership within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Elite Youth Scheme. The membership recognises Football Australia’s unwavering commitment to fostering and developing young football talent across the nation. The AFC Elite Youth Scheme's highest attainable 3-star membership serves as a testament to the exceptional quality of Football Australia's talent development program, establishing Football Australia as world-class within the region. The announcement closely follows Football Australia's accolade at the 2023 AFC Annual Awards in…
Socceroo Ajdin Hrustic has continued Australian football’s run of recent success, claiming the Europa League crown with his club Eintracht Frankfurt in Spain this morning (AEST).
Hrustic and his Frankfurt teammates defeated Rangers FC from Scotland on penalties after the score was locked at 1-1 after extra time, with the 16-time Socceroo entering the pitch as a substitute for Djibril Sow.
Hrustic became just the fifth Socceroo to take the field in a European Final [UEFA Cup, Europa League, UEFA Champions League] – building on the legacy created by Australians Ned Zelic (1993…
Lydia Williams, the most enduring player for the CommBank Matildas, has announced she will retire from international football.At the conclusion of Australia’s Paris 2024™️ Olympic Games campaign, Williams will bring down the curtain on a storied international career that commenced on 28 July 2005 and has currently spanned 103 international matches and close to 19 years.As a proud Noongar woman, Williams (cap #138) is one of only two footballers to represent Australia at senior FIFA tournaments on five occasions (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023). The CommBank Matildas veteran has also donned the…
Football Australia today announced that the CommBank Matildas will host reigning AFC Women’s Asian Cup™ champions and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ participants, China PR, in a two-match “’Til It’s Done Farewell” international series to be played in Adelaide and Sydney during the May/June FIFA Women’s International Window.Aided by the support of the South Australian Government through its tourism body, the South Australian Tourism Commission, the opening match of the series will see the CommBank Matildas head to Adelaide for the first time since November 2019. To be played on Friday, 31 May (7…
Australia’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ tilt may have come to an end, however the two-and-a-half-year qualification campaign and performance at the Finals in Doha will go down as the most successful in history.
During the group stage of the Finals, the Socceroos claimed two victories for the first time at a FIFA World Cup by defeating both Tunisia and Denmark, and last night were magnificent against a giant of world football, Argentina, going down 2-1 in the Round of 16.
The win against Tunisia was the first at the tournament for Australia in 12 years and the 1-0 scoreline was the Socceroos…
Two goalkeepers. Two proud Indigenous women. Westfield Matilda Lydia Williams sat down with Future Matilda and Indigenous Football Week Ambassador Jada Whyman to chat football and family, country and culture.
Their stories start on opposite sides of the continent and years apart, but Lydia Williams and Jada Whyman have many things in common - from their positions on the pitch to an immense pride in their people.
“The two tribes that I'm from are Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta. So Wiradjuri being my mum's side from Wagga and then Yorta Yorta, my dad's side which…
In celebration of the NAIDOC Week, we check in with former Socceroo Travis Dodd, who is helping football make inroads into the nation's Aboriginal communities.
This year’s NAIDOC Week theme – Get up! Stand up! Show up! – encourages all of us to champion institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative change while celebrating those who have already driven and led change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over generations.
And one person who certainly is helping to lead change in Indigenous communities is former Socceroo Dodd.
Subway Joeys’ Head Coach Brad Maloney has named an extended 28-player squad ahead of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Thailand 2023™ to be staged in Bangkok and Chonburi from June 15 – July 2, 2023.
The extended squad includes Adelaide United FC forward Nestory Irankunda, recent Isuzu UTE A-League Men debutant for the Central Coast Mariners, midfielder Miguel Di Pizio, and goalkeeper Anthony Pavlesic, who has also been called into the Mariners’ senior squad in the later stages of the regular season and for the Finals.
Upon announcing the extended squad, which will be reduced to 23-players…
Football Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Joe Montemurro as the 15th full-time Head Coach of the CommBank Matildas following a global search for the next leader of Australian Senior Women’s National Team.One of the world's most respected coaches, Montemurro returns home after a highly successful decade in Europe where he led Arsenal WFC, Juventus FC Women, and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin to success and developed a reputation for progressive, high-quality football.Football Australia Interim Chief Executive Officer, Heather Garriock, said the appointment comes at a critical…
The Subway Australian U-23s proved too strong for a valiant Vanuatu in the first match of the PacificAus Sports Football Series in Port Vila, running out 3-0 victors.Australia dominated possession and chances in the opening exchanges, but Vanuatu nearly stunned the visitors on the counter attack in the 18th minute. Captain Johnathan Spokeyjack burst free down the left flank and cut the ball back for Tonly Kalotang, whose effort skewed narrowly wide of the far post.Vanuatu broke again in the 29th minute, as Godine Tenene embarked on a flashy solo run and threaded a pass in behind for…
It was a tough result and tough match for the Young Matildas as they went down 2-0 to Brazil in their second group stage match of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
However, the Australian side is taking the result against the current and 11-time South American U-20 champions in their stride and apply their learnings to their final group game in Costa Rica.
For head coach Leah Blayney, there were positives to take from the soggy pitch in Alajuela, as well as key areas of improvement.
“We're super competitive so we always want to win every…
Female Football Week 2025, a nationwide celebration of the people driving the continued rise of women’s football, is set to conclude this weekend with the excitement of the Ninja A-League Women Semi Final weekend.Held from 2–11 May, Female Football Week has in its 11 years become a flagship initiative, recognising, celebrating, and inspiring the contributions of women and girls across all levels of the game.This year’s activations delivered a record-breaking series of events shining a spotlight on the achievements shaping the future of football across every level of the game - from local…
Victoria Blue and NSW Sky are the Under 15 and Under 16 winners respectively as the 2025 CommBank Emerging Socceroos Championships concluded in Melbourne.The stands at the Home of the Matildas were filled with excited spectators and supporters who witnessed the culmination of six days of high-quality competition from Football Australia’s nine state and territory Member Federations. A combined 354 goals were scored across the tournament which featured over 1,500 players and officials from 32 teams.Subway Socceroos’ Head Coach Tony Popovic was in attendance to present the winning teams with the…
Three expansion teams planned in time for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
Together with an extended finals series, expansion will deliver more games, more football and more opportunities for elite players
New Club Championship competition announced combining results in men’s and women’s football
Women’s football is on the move, with Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announcing a raft of new initiatives to drive the women’s game forward.
Just eight months after the APL confirmed their control of the A-League and W-League, and as part of a strategic expansion plan, APL have…
Our nation’s migrant history is strongly reflected in the current crop of Socceroos’ whose heritage can be linked to all parts of the globe.
With 30% of Australians born overseas and 49% having at least one parent born overseas, the story of Australian football is part of larger story about our nation’s migrant history.
First introduced in the late 19th century by Englishman John Walter Fletcher, football (or soccer) soon became a space for migrant communities – many of whom fled war and persecution in their homelands – to gather and celebrate their culture and heritage…
The annual Female Football Week awards recognise the contributions of women in football at grassroots levels, including coaches, referees and administrators.CommBank Coach of the Year 2023 was awarded to Ann Gourley of Gosnells City Football Club in Perth. The Belfast native is an integral part of the club, leading the female football program and having a position on the committee.She came to the club after migrating to Australia in 2007 and – after a four-year break – returned in 2018 to help build the women’s program from the ground up at Gosnells City.“She has been involved in the u12s,…
Australia’s Socceroos, with a world ranking of No. 42, secured qualification for a fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup™ on Tuesday morning (AEST), recording a historic victory 5-4 over world-ranked No. 22, Peru, in a dramatic penalty shootout at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
After a qualification campaign that stretched a whopping 1,008 days and saw Australia’s senior men’s national football team play just four of its twenty qualification matches on home soil, Graham Arnold’s side put in an inspiring and courageous performance in Qatar’s capital to book the penultimate berth on…
Over 200 member associations join FIFA’s Talent Development Programme
FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger: “Programme is aimed at giving every talent a chance”
Thorough analysis of each member association’s football ecosystem
World-leading experts to implement the programme
Over 200 member associations across all confederations have signed up for FIFA’s first-ever Talent Development Programme, setting a new benchmark for initiatives created by world football’s governing body in the area. The list comprises, among many others, the current men’s and women’s…
Football Australia is pleased to announce the Hon Julie Bishop as the latest ambassador to join the Legacy ‘23 Ambassador
Program.
With Australia set to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, the Legacy ‘23 Ambassador Program will play a critical role in raising awareness and advocacy for achieving 50:50 gender participation in sport, as set out in Football Australia’s Legacy ‘23 Plan.
During her time as Australia’s first female Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013-to 2018, Julie was an advocate for gender equality in this country and throughout the world.…
