Game Plan revolutionises grassroots sport

Behind the scenes of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, an important transformation was taking place. The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Football Australia were working together to strengthen community clubs in preparation for a surge in participation.     Football Australia is among more than 100 national sporting organisations who have embraced Game Plan – a world-first, free digital self-assessment tool developed by the ASC to help local clubs improve how they operate.     Since its launch in 2020, Game Plan has supported 7,000 sporting clubs across Australia. It encourages clubs to review each area of their business — from safeguarding practices and governance structures to infrastructure and community engagement. It then identifies their gaps and offers tailored education and resources to help clubs raise their standards.      The platform is also customisable – allowing national sports to modify the content to meets their clubs’ needs. Football Australia took advantage of this offering and tailored Game Plan to support their Club Development Program – ‘Club Changer’.    “It has helped us create a more inclusive and sustainable future for Australian football,” Football Australia’s National Program Manager, Grace Lambourne said.    “This is the first time the national, state and local levels of football have worked together to directly support grassroots clubs, and the results have been remarkable.”     Within two years, Football Australia has seen more than 1,800 clubs sign up to Game Plan through the Club Changer process, resulting in a participation surge in women and girls’ football of 27%. 

Furthermore over the last 12 months:  

• Overall football participation has increased by 200,000  
• Outdoor football participation has increased by 10%  
• Social football engagement has grown by 13%  

 “The biggest success we’ve seen is that Game Plan, through Club Changer, has helped us build on the legacy of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with more than 1,200 clubs completing the Women’s & Girls Module,” Lambourne added.    Here are some of their club testimonials:    Adelaide Olympic Football Club: “We’ve reviewed our policies, introduced more female-friendly programs, and taken practical steps to ensure women and girls feel welcome—from improving access to suitable change rooms, to actively recruiting coaches and committee members.”    Canterbury Lions Football Club: “This shift helped streamline club management, improve member experience, and ensure compliance with laws, regulations, legislations.”    Melton Phoenix Football Club: “It is an amazing initiative for Clubs to be able to gain knowledge, stay informed and help us evolve with the times.”    Australian Catholic University Football Club: “It allowed us to identify areas in the club which we needed to improve, gave us ideas for programs and new methods, and gave us access to resources so our committee members and volunteers had guidance on how to effectively improve our blind spots.”    Yanchep United Football Club: “Since joining Club Changer, one of the most significant changes at Yanchep United has been the remarkable growth in female participation. We have attracted more female players than anticipated, which has resulted in the formation of three MiniRoos girls teams and two all-girls junior teams—a first for our club.    “In addition to on-field progress, we’ve made great strides off the pitch by increasing the number of women in volunteer and leadership roles. We now have the highest number of female committee members in our club’s history, and more women involved in coaching roles than ever before.” 

Game Plan is a key deliverable of Australia’s first Participation Strategy, Play Well, which aims to transform the culture of community sport so that everyone belongs.    Game Plan is available to all sporting clubs and organisations across Australia. For more information visit: ausport.gov.au/gameplan