Football Australia welcomes the Federal Government’s investment of $3.1 million over two (2) years to encourage greater participation of women and girls in Football, to expand the Miniroos for Girls Program (for girls aged 6-12 years) and the Girls 12+ Football Your Way Engagement Experience Program.
In last night’s Federal Budget, the Government emphasised the importance of maximising the social, economic and sporting outcomes of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ – the single largest women’s sporting event in the world – and the unique opportunity it presents to leverage significant legacy initiatives.
The funding forms part of Football Australia’s ambitious Legacy ’23 plan to deliver enduring benefits as a result of co-hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™, including gender parity by 2027, which would see an additional 400,000 female participants.
Football Australia Chief Executive Officer, James Johnson, acknowledged and thanked the Federal Government for their continued support of Football Australia and Legacy ’23.
“Football Australia has undertaken extensive planning and modelling for Legacy ’23 and we are thrilled that the Federal Government have reviewed these plans and continue to show their support for the growth and development of our game at all levels, but particularly at the grassroots,” Johnson said.
Widely recognised as Australia’s largest club-base community sport, we are also determined to become the centre of women’s football in the Asia-Pacific region. This funding will ensure we can continue this journey of transformation and provide more women and girls with access to football – on and off the pitch – in the lead up to and beyond the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, which is now just 16 months away”.
Played in every community across the across the country, the Legacy ‘23 Participation pillar reflects the nature of football being an activity that can be played by all ages and abilities to improve the physical, social, and mental health wellbeing of its participants; and will play a leading role as Australia continues to recover from the pandemic.
“This will be the largest ever women’s sporting event and it is a privilege for Australia to co-host the event with New Zealand,” Minister for Sport, Richard Colbeck said.
“The event will strengthen Australia's world-class reputation as a global leader in women's sport and is part of a green and gold decade of major sporting events to be hosted in our country.”
“The Federal Government’s $3.1 million investment in FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 legacy programs will be critical to ensuring community level football around Australia is further strengthened particularly with more women and girls participating and engaged.”
This recent commitment to assisting in driving the future growth of women’s football at the grassroots level follows last year’s backing of Football Australia’s National Club Development Program as well as High Performance to the tune of $12 million.
Football Australia Head of Women's Football, Women's World Cup Legacy & Inclusion, Sarah Walsh is excited about the opportunities this funding will provide for the development of all sectors of the game.
“Football is recognised as one of Australia’s most loved sports and through Legacy ’23 and our partnership with Government we are committed to delivering a long-lasting legacy as a result of hosting FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™.
“Intersectionality practices have been adopted across the design of all programs, with a key objective to increase the participation of women and girls with diverse lived experiences. This critically important funding will enable us to deliver programs to ensure greater access and capability across all communities and help reduce the barriers linked to participation in women and girls”, she said.
Commonwealth Bank Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter acknowledged the Federal Government backing and its importance in helping create a more inclusive sport for women and girls.
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ is going to be an amazing event for the players, the fans and the Australian football community,” Carpenter said. “It’s exciting that not only will it be a world class event, but it will also help continuing to grow women’s football in the community.”
“Every time I come home, I see how much bigger women’s football has become and through OUR GAME we can see the positive impact this is having on communities. It’s vital that we provide opportunities for women and girls to be involved as players, coaches, officials and administrators in all levels of the game and this funding will assist in that goal.”
In 2019, after the eighth edition of the tournament in France, football participation grew by more than 850,000.
About Legacy ’23 and OUR GAME
Legacy ‘23 is an ambitious plan to ensure we deliver positive and enduring benefits for Australia’s largest community sport, beyond 2023. Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ is a once in a lifetime opportunity to realise a truly meaningful legacy for football, the community and the nation.
OUR GAME is a community for women and girls in football. Its focus is to increase the awareness and visibility of women and girls in football, facilitate access to participation and transform how women and girls see themselves and their involvement in football.
