Football Federation Australia to Create Multi-Year Funding Plan to Drive Women's Football

Football Federation Australia [FFA] and its Women’s Football Council have announced the development of a 10-year business case plan to drive significant new investment in women’s football in Australia. It will touch all levels of the game from grassroots to youth, semi-professional, professional and national teams. This exciting new initiative is a key FFA priority that will be turbo-charged if Australia is successful in its bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM.

Building on FFA’s Gender Equality Action Plan 2019 and Long-Term Women’s Football Plan, the business case will create a clear roadmap and timelines towards securing significant new investment in the women’s game. This ground-breaking initiative will also help underpin a steadfast commitment to full equality in football for women and girls and be fully integrated into FFA’s overall strategic plan.

FFA President, Chris Nikou, said, "This business case plan will demonstrate how serious Australia is about sustainably growing participation by women and girls in football. It is no secret internationally that women’s football represents very significant value for the game, and this plan is an important and clear legacy piece for our 2023 Women’s World Cup Bid. These are hugely exciting times for women’s football in Australia and I believe we are on the cusp of something very special here."

Women’s Football Council Chair, Ros Moriarty said: "The escalating global power of women’s football is seeing rapidly rising investment and performance, especially in the USA and Europe. Moreover, the world is showing us that women’s football is more than sport, and football has the power to act as a social agency for women. The recent Matildas-Socceroos parity deal is genuine structural change at the top of the game. We now need everyone involved in Australian football to take that mentality to the game at every level, to drive ground-up equality in football for women and girls. The business case plan will be a world leading approach and will be informed by global strategy from organisations including FIFA, UEFA, the FA and CONCACAF."

Initiated by FFA’s Women’s Football Council, the business case plan will dovetail strategically with the W-League and girls’ Y-League. FFA’s Head of Game Development and former Matilda, Sarah Walsh, believes that a collaborative approach will help drive the future of women’s football in Australia, saying:

"Strong partnerships are the foundation of effective strategy and that is what we have here. Both the FFA and our Women’s’ Football Council share a vision to make football the sport of choice for women and girls in Australia. The new collective bargaining agreement for the Socceroos and the Matildas, which delivers equal pay for men and women playing for Australia, is a perfect example of what can be achieved with such whole of game leadership."

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