Football Australia

Football Australia is the national governing body for football in Australia (or ‘soccer’ as it is more commonly called in Australia). A member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, Football Australia is a former member of the Oceania Football Confederation, and is responsible for the management of Australia’s national football teams, including the Socceroos and the Westfield Matildas. 

Football Australia has worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to engage sporting communities in more than 30 countries worldwide. It was the sporting partner of the 2018 ASEAN Australia Special Summit, and will be involved in Australia’s representation at the rescheduled Dubai Expo 2020.

Football is popular throughout the Pacific with 11 member associations and three associate members in the Oceania Confederation. National federations in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga are responsible for leading football’s growth and development at the grassroots and elite levels. 

Our partnership with PacificAus Sports

Football Australia partnered with the PacificAus Sports program in 2019 to deliver the Westfield Junior Matildas Pacific Step-up tour, the first Australian national football team since 2005 to tour the Pacific. 

The team travelled to Tonga, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, competing in matches against the island nations’ national football teams, taking part in joint training sessions, and learning more about the cultures of the countries. 

One of the highlights of the tour was the game against the Solomon Islands team which was the first ever international women’s football fixture in Solomon Islands. As a result of the popularity of the tour and matches there, the Solomon Islands Football Federation established the first ever national women’s football league in 2020, with eight teams competing.

The tour also led to new sponsorships for the national women’s teams in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Live television and radio broadcasts of the matches in Tonga and Vanuatu saw the tour shortlisted for the Special Jury Prize at the 2019 Peace and Sport Awards.

A documentary of the tour, produced by Football Australia, is expected to go to air in Australia and the Pacific in 2021.