Facilities boom hits Canterbury District Soccer Football Association
Canterbury & District Soccer Football Association (CDSFA) is in the midst of a facilities boom, as it places a greater focus on female participation in football.
CDSFA chief executive Ian Holmes said the emphasis on female participation was backed by the association’s decision to employ a female football game development officer, the first appointment of its type in the local association.
“It’s a completely new and additional full-time position and resource whose specific role will relate to female football and nothing else,” Holmes explained.
“Their role will focus on getting female football into the schools and ensure that our association’s female players are given the same opportunities as the boys.
“And it’s not just about the players, either. Their role will be about ensuring there are opportunities for women to get involved and engage with the game as coaches or administrators as well.”
Underpinning that focus on female football growth is the strong growth of football’s facilities footprint in the local area.
“We’re a mature area, so infrastructure has always been a key part of what we’ve had to focus on as we continue to work with our local councils to make sure we can meet the demands for grounds and amenities,” Holmes explained.
“We’re really starting to see the fruits of that labour as we’ve had a lot of new facilities come online and more to come amongst the local councils we work with.
“We’ve seen major investments from the Strathfield council. At Blair Park, we have the new amenities block that has been built there, plus they’re just completing a renovation and rebuild of Blair Park for the Burwood Football Club.
“There’s a new synthetic turf at Ron Routley Oval, courtesy of assistance from the Canterbury-Bankstown Council, we have new floodlights at Pratten Park and a renovation of the building at Henley Park, which falls under Burwood Council.
“In the future, we have works set to get underway at Ewen Park, this season Roselands Soccer Club will have its first full season at the new playing fields at Bennett Park.
“This is years and years of hard work.”
The creation of a new female football focussed game development role combined with the host of new facilities online and on the way in the CDSFA’s catchment area has created a wealth of new opportunities for female footballers.
Players – both male and female – looking to play football in 2020 should head to the CDSFA’s website at https://www.footballcanterbury.com.au/ where they can find a list of the association’s clubs, opportunities, venues and events.
