Australian schools have shown there is huge excitement and interest in football amongst students, with football being the overall number one chosen sport in the Sporting Schools program for Term 2 across the country.
On a national scale, this is the first time football has been the most requested sport within the Sporting Schools program. Over 5300 schools received funding for Sporting Schools in term 2 with over half a million total participants involved in the programs that are delivered before, during and after school.
Football Australia staff have also been increasing the sport's reach, delivering different programs in a variety of regional areas, introducing football to kids across the country.
These numbers show that momentum for football is growing amongst school aged children in the Sporting Schools program, with Term 1 participation numbers also showing strong growth up 41% from 2021 and 2020.
The increase in interest comes on the back of the Socceroos qualifying for their fifth straight FIFA World Cup which will begin in November later this year, and the FIFA Women's World Cup in Austraila and New Zealand starting on July 20th 2023.
The Football Australia team will be delivering special events and programs in Term 4 while the FIFA Men's World Cup is on in Qatar, using the interest in the tournament to capture students imagination.
The Sporting Schools funding window for Term 4 is now open, apply now: playfootball.com.au/schools"
