Football Australia facts for kids
| AFC | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Full name | Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Short name | Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Founded |
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| Folded | Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| FIFA affiliation | 1956–1960 and from 1963 |
| AFC affiliation | 2006 |
| AFF affiliation | 2013 |
| Chairman | Anter Isaac |
Football Australia is the main group that manages soccer, futsal (a type of indoor soccer), and beach soccer in Australia. Its main office is in Sydney. The first group for soccer in Australia started in 1911. However, Football Australia as we know it today began in 1961. It was first called the Australian Soccer Federation. Later, in 2003, it became the Australian Soccer Association. In 2005, it changed its name to Football Federation Australia. Finally, in December 2020, it became Football Australia. This change was made to help unite all parts of Australian football.
Football Australia looks after many national teams. These include the men's, women's, youth, Paralympic, beach, and futsal teams. It also manages national coaching programs. This group approves professional, semi-professional, and amateur soccer games in Australia. In 2006, Football Australia decided to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). It then joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In 2013, it also became a member of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).
Contents
The Story of Australian Football's Governing Body
The history of Football Australia goes back to 1911. That's when the "Commonwealth Football Association" was formed. This group was later replaced by the Australian Soccer Football Association in 1921. Its main office was in Sydney. This association worked for 40 years. It became a temporary member of FIFA in 1954 and a full member in 1956. But in 1960, the association closed down. This happened after FIFA suspended it for taking players from other countries.
In 1961, the Australian Soccer Federation was created. This new group wanted to take over from the old one. However, FIFA would not let it rejoin until some unpaid fines were settled. These fines were paid in 1963, and the new group was then allowed to join FIFA.
Australia was quite separate from international football for a while. It tried to join the Asian Football Confederation in 1960 and 1974, but was not allowed. So, Australia and New Zealand formed the Oceania Football Federation in 1966. This group is now called the Oceania Football Confederation. Australia left the OFC in 1972 to try and join the AFC again. But it rejoined the OFC in 1978.
In 1995, the Australian Soccer Federation officially changed its name to Soccer Australia.
In 2003, after Australia did not qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, there were concerns about how Soccer Australia was being run. The Australian government suggested they might stop funding the sport. To fix this, an independent review was done. This report suggested that the governing body should be reorganized. It also suggested that a well-known businessman, Frank Lowy, should lead a new temporary board.
A few months after Lowy was appointed, Soccer Australia was closed down. A new group, the Australia Soccer Association (ASA), was created. The Australian government provided about $15 million to the ASA.
On January 1, 2005, the ASA changed its name to Football Federation Australia (FFA). This was done to match the international use of the word "football" instead of "soccer." It also helped to show that it was a new start. They even used the phrase "old soccer, new football" to make this clear.
On January 1, 2006, Football Federation Australia moved from the OFC to the AFC. This move was approved by all the football groups involved. Football Australia hoped this change would give Australia a better chance to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. It also allowed A-League clubs to play in the AFC Champions League. This was meant to make Australian football better at both international and club levels.
In February 2008, Football Federation Australia announced it wanted to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In 2010, Football Australia decided to focus only on bidding for the 2022 World Cup. However, their bid for the 2022 World Cup was not successful.
On August 27, 2013, Australia became a full member of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). They had been an invited member since 2006.
In November 2018, many members of the Football Australia board were replaced. Steven Lowy also left his role as chair. His position was filled by Chris Nikou.
On June 25, 2020, Australia won the right to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with New Zealand.
On November 25, 2020, Football Australia officially voted to rename itself from FFA to Football Australia. The CEO, James Johnson, said this rebranding would not cost much money. This name change was also meant to help unite the brand with other state football groups.
On December 31, 2020, it was announced that the A-League Men, A-League Women, and A-League Youth competitions would no longer be run by Football Australia. A new group called the Australian Professional Leagues took over. This group also got the rights to use the A-League brand.
On February 23, 2023, Football Australia's CEO, James Johnson, shared a plan for the future. This plan aimed to make the Matildas (Australia's women's national team) the most loved sports brand in Australia. It also aimed to get more people playing football. The plan asked for $180 million to improve community sports facilities.
How Australian Soccer is Organized
Soccer in Australia has always been organized with different levels of groups. There's a national group, and then groups for each state and territory. The first state group started in New South Wales in 1882. As soccer grew, local groups and regional areas were also set up.
Today, there is one national group, Football Australia. Below that, there are nine state and territory groups. Then, there are over 100 smaller district, regional, and local groups.
Here are the nine main state and territory groups:
- Capital Football
- Northern NSW Football
- Football NSW
- Football Northern Territory
- Football Queensland
- Football South Australia
- Football Tasmania
- Football Victoria
- Football West
National Indigenous Advisory Group
In November 2021, Football Australia created the National Indigenous Advisory Group (NIAG). This group helps connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It aims to get more of them involved in soccer. NIAG advises Football Australia and has 9 members from First Nations communities.
The first members of the group came from all levels of football. They also came from media, universities, and government. Some famous members include Frank Farina OAM, Karen Menzies (the first Indigenous Matilda), Kyah Simon, and Jade North. North and Sarah Walsh are the co-chairs of the group.
NIAG's main goals are to support First Nations players and staff. They also look at ways to help people get into football. They work on creating partnerships and developing plans for how the organization works with Indigenous communities.
Soccer Competitions in Australia
Football Australia organizes several national competitions. The state groups organize their own competitions.
Here are some of the national competitions:
- A-League Men (Football Australia no longer owns this competition)
- Australia Cup
- National Second Division (planned to start in 2025)
- National Premier Leagues
- A-League Women, which used to be called W-League (Football Australia no longer owns this competition)
- Women's Australia Cup (planned to start in 2024)
- A-League Youth, which used to be called Y-League (Football Australia no longer owns this competition)
- FFA State Institute Challenge
- F-League
See also
In Spanish: Football Australia para niños
- Soccer in Australia
- Futsal in Australia
- Football Australia defunct sporting federation
