Soccer in the Australian Capital Territory is predominantly amateur with a local, interstate, national and international history. Soccer in the ACT is organised and administered by Capital Football and involves teams from within the ACT and surrounding NSW regions, Monaro, Southern Tablelands and Riverina.
Canberra United FC (CUFC) compete in the elite national women's competition, the A-League Women (formerly known as the W-League). CUFC was established in 2008 by Capital Football and is one of eight founding members of the league. United is the only A-League Women team not affiliated with an A-League Men team.[1]
Since 2014, Canberra, through Capital Football, has been granted one qualification place for the round of 32 of every FFA Cup annual national tournament.[2] The Capital Football Federation Cup is the qualification process for ACT clubs to qualify for the FFA Cup, with the winner of the Cup qualifying. As of 2018, the following ACT teams have qualified and competed in the FFA Cup:
| Representative | Result | Rounds | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Entered | Position | |||||
| Round 32 | Round 16 | Won 5–4 (South Hobart) | Lost 0–6 (Melbourne Victory) | – | – | – | ||
| Round 32 | Round 32 | Lost 0–1 (Sydney Olympic) | – | – | – | – | ||
| Round 32 | Semi finals | Won 1–0 (Surfers Paradise) | Won 2–0 (Redlands United) | Won 1–0 (Green Gully) | Lost 0–3 (Sydney FC) | – | ||
| Canberra Olympic | Round 32 | Round 32 | Lost 1–0 (Sorrento FC) | – | – | – | – | |
| Round 32 | Round 32 | Lost 1–4 (Broadmeadow Magic) | – | – | – | – | ||
| Round 32 | Round 32 | Lost 0–2 (Hume City) | – | – | – | – | ||
Central Coast Mariners (CCM), in an effort to secure the Canberra region as a catchment for the regional team, but has moved home A-League fixtures away from their normal stadium in Gosford to Bruce Stadium in Canberra in both 2009 and 2016. During the 2009–10 A-League season, CCM played Perth Glory in September and Adelaide United in October at Bruce Stadium in front of crowds ranging from 5,100 and 5,500. In 2016, CCM entered into an agreement with the ACT Government to play Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United in Canberra during the 2016–17 season.[3] The Phoenix was chosen due to Canberra and Wellington's sister-city partnership. Adelaide United was chosen as they were the defending champions of the A-league at the time. Both matches were coordinated with Canberra's W-League team, Canberra United, to create double header match-day events.[4]
| Central Coast Mariners Canberra A-League Matches | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time (UTC+11) | Home Team | Away Team | Ground | Attendance | |||
| [5] | 4 September 2009 | 20:00 | 2–1 | 5,193 | ||||
| 31 October 2009 | 19:00 | Central Coast Mariners | 0–0 | Bruce Stadium | 5,437 | |||
| [6] | 12 November 2016 | 17:35 | Central Coast Mariners | 0–2 | Bruce Stadium | 5,497 | ||
| [7] | 5 February 2017 | 17:00 | Central Coast Mariners | 2–1 | Adelaide United | Bruce Stadium | 5,072 | |
Former NSL clubs
Two Canberra clubs have competed in the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL). Canberra City (then known as Canberra Arrows) competed in the NSL between 1977 and 1986 and Canberra Cosmos between 1995 and 2001. The Queanbeyan based Capital Football affiliated club, Inter Monaro (now known as Monaro Panthers) also competed in the NSL between 1985 and 1986. All three clubs shared limited success in the NSL but the Arrows did attract Australian national team legend Johnny Warren as manager of the club during this period as well as giving then future Socceroo and national team manager Frank Farina his first senior soccer debut. The Cosmos attracted the Australian national team captain at the time, Paul Wade, when they joined the NSL as well as nurturing a number of future Socceroos including Jason Polak, Robbie Hooker, John Markovski, Nik Mrdja, Lindsay Wilson and Vince Grella. The Cosmos were also led by Sport Australia Hall of Famer and former national team manager, Rale Rasic for two seasons.
Former Women's NSL clubs
The Canberra Eclipse competed in the Women's National Soccer League from formation in 1996 till folding in 2004. The team played home matches out of West Belconnen Leagues Club and the AIS in Belconnen. Similar to the other five teams in the national competition, the Eclipse had an alternative name, the ACT Academy of Sports. The Canberra Eclipse won the league in 2001–02, beating NSW Sapphires 1–0 in the grand final. Canberra also finished runner-up in 1998–99 when the Eclipse lost 0–2 to SASI Pirates. Australian internationals, Lisa Casagrande and Caitlin Munoz both won league Golden Boots in 98–99 and 01-02 respectively in Eclipse jerseys. Other Australian internationals to represent the Eclipse include Ellie Brush and Amy Taylor.
Failed A-League4Canberra bid
In July 2008 TransACT CEO, Ivan Slavich, formally established the A-League4Canberra bid organisation along with other key local business identities. The organisations goal was to obtain an A-league licence for the Canberra region.[8] The A-League4Canberra bid officially launched 11 December 2008 at Jerrabomberra Primary School, headed by Ivan Slavich alongside Canberra United player Ellie Brush and Member for Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly.[9] A-League4Canberra quickly secured ACT Government support for their bid in 2009 with the ACT Labor Government committing $2.5 million towards the bid.[10] Former Canberra-born Australian internationals, Ned Zelic and Carl Valeri signed on to become founding members and spokespeople of the organisation. The bid signed 2000 members, raising $5 million as it gathered capital to meet FFA bid criteria.[11] In 2009 and 2011 Canberra's bid was overlooked by FFA in its initial rounds of league expansion in favour of now defunct North Queensland Fury, Gold Coast United and Sydney Rovers.[12] When the Sydney Rovers bid collapsed the A-League4Canberra organisation again submitted a bid for inclusion in the league, however the FFA again overlooked the bid in favour of establishing its own team in Western Sydney that would become Western Sydney Wanderers.[13] [14] On 10 May 2012, after its failed attempts and FFA's announcement that expansion beyond ten teams was on hold for the foreseeable future, the A-League4Canberra bid organisation's CEO, Heather Reid, announced the organisation would cease efforts to gain an A-league licence for the Canberra region, would wind-up operations and refund founding members monies.[15]
Capital Football operates and administers all local competitions in the ACT for senior men and women and junior girls and boys.
The ACT breaks its junior structure and league system up into Miniroo (formally Rooball) for early development and junior league soccer for teenagers. The junior elite pathway comes under the banner of the NPL.
The first senior soccer match played in the ACT was played in 1910 between Ginninderra and Yarralumla. The match was played at the Ginninderra showgrounds and came about because Ginninderra locals wanted to play a different sport from the already established Rugby Union. The visiting Yarralumla team won the match 1–0.[16]
The ACT senior men's competitions are generally run between April and September each calendar year. The league system is amateur in nature with a few semi-professional exceptions. The system consists of a pyramid of leagues, headed by three single divisions that do not encompass promotion and relegation, instead league licences to compete are granted by Capital Football. However, divisions 1–6 are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. The most successful club in each league rises to a higher league, whilst the club that finishes at the bottom of their league finds itself sinking down a level. Division 7–10 are open leagues for casual/social players. All leagues contest a regular season and conclude with a finals series.[17]
The ACT senior women's competitions are generally run parallel to the men's with the competition running between April and September each calendar year. The league system is amateur in nature. The system consists of a pyramid of six leagues that do not encompass promotion and relegation, instead league licences to compete are granted by Capital Football. All leagues contest a regular season and conclude with a finals series.[17]
The ACT men's league structure is broken into thirteen league levels, at the top is the single division of National Premier Leagues Capital Football (Level 1, which is often referred to as the “top flight”), containing ten teams, of which, as of 2017, seven are based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, with the final three based in the New South Wales towns of Queanbeyan, Cooma and Griffith. One of the teams, FFA Centre of Excellence, is an age restricted youth academy, which is ineligible for the finals series. Below The NPL is the Capital Football State League structure of twelve leagues (Levels 2 to 13). The Capital League (Level 2) and The Capital League Reserves (Level 3) both contain eight teams each. State League Division 1–6 (Level 4–9) are competitive divisions that are restricted to ten teams but may sometimes contain less than ten teams. Divisions 7–10 (Level 10–13) have no limits on competing teams and are open for inclusion submissions.[17]
| ACT Men's League Structure | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | League(s)/Division(s) | |||||
| 1 | NPL Capital Football 1 8 clubs ↓ 1 relegations | |||||
| 2 | Capital Premier League 8 clubs ↑ 1 promotions | |||||
| 3 | Division 1 10 clubs ↓ 1 relegations | |||||
| 4 | Division 2 10 clubs ↑ 1 promotions ↓ 1 relegations | |||||
| 5 | Division 3 10 clubs ↑ 1 promotions ↓ 1 relegations | |||||
| 6 | Division 4 10 clubs ↑ 1 promotions ↓ 1 relegations | |||||
| 7 | Division 5 10 clubs ↑ 1 promotions ↓ 1 relegations | |||||
| 8 | Division 6 10 clubs ↑ 1 promotions | |||||
| 9 | Division 7 14 clubs Open | |||||
| 10 | Division 8 12 clubs Open | |||||
| 11 | Division 9 12 clubs Open | |||||
| 12 | Division 10 12 clubs Open | |||||
| ACT Women's League Structure | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | League(s)/Division(s) | |||||
| 1 | Women's NPL Capital Football 8 clubs | |||||
| 1 | Division 1 (Women's Capital League) 9 clubs | |||||
| 2 | Division 2 10 clubs | |||||
| 3 | Division 3 9 clubs | |||||
| 4 | Division 4 9 clubs | |||||
| 5 | Division 5 8 clubs | |||||
The ACT Federation Cup (Fed Cup) has been in existence since 1962 under various sponsorship names. Currently the cup is named the Capital Football Federation Cup. As of 2016, the Fed Cup uses a nineteen team bracket broken up into five rounds (Round 1, Round 2, quarter-finals, semi-finals, Final). Round 1 consists of six qualifier teams, predominantly State League Division 1 teams, competing in three matches with three teams advancing. Round two sees thirteen clubs enter from the NPL Capital Football and Capital League (Level 1 and 2) and join the three qualified teams. Since 2014, the cup has been used by Capital Football as the qualifying tournament for FFA Cup qualification with the final winner qualifying for the FFA Cup round of 32. The Cup has been awarded every year since 1962 with one exception, 1973. In 1973, the Cup final between Croatia Deakin and Juventus was abandoned by the match officials after twenty minutes with the score locked at nill-nill due to crowd trouble. The match was not replayed and the cup not awarded.[18] The most successful club in the Cup's history is Canberra FC, who under its various different names has lifted the cup seventeen times.[19]
The ACT Women's Federation Cup is run as a pre-season cup competition that is open to all teams of all levels. From 2015, the cup has consisted of a group stage followed by a grand final. Prior to that, it consisted of a group stage with two pools and then a grand final of the two pool winners.
ACT Futsal consists of an elite level women's and men's league (referred to as the Premier League) plus five men's divisions broken into regions, three women's divisions and two mixed divisions. League seasons are run during the spring and summer months with the premier leagues running from September to December each calendar year. All leagues contest a regular season and conclude with a finals series. As of 2017, there are 5,000 registered futsal players in the ACT.[20]
The ACT hosts an annual international youth tournament named the Kanga Cup. The tournament is organised and run by Capital Football and attracts participants from all over the globe. Matches are played at selected ACT playing districts across Canberra over a two-week period in July.[21]
Canberra's Bruce Stadium was selected as a host venue for men's and women's soccer for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The ACT hosted five men's and women's group matches at Bruce Stadium between 13 September and 20 September 2000 including the Australian women's national soccer team (the Matildas). Bruce also hosted one of the women's semi-finals on 24 September 2000.[22]
The 2003 OFC Women's Championship was hosted at McKellar Park between 5 and 13 April 2003. Five nations contested the championship including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Cook Islands. The championship doubled as the OFC Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup held in the US.[23]
Canberra was selected as one of five host cities for the 2015 Asian Cup Finals.[24] Bruce Stadium was selected as the host venue in Canberra with McKellar Park and Deakin Stadium selection as training venues. Gungahlin Enclosed was selected as a back-up training venue in case one of the other two become unavailable.[25] Iraq, North Korea and Qatar all used Canberra has their tournament base while Kuwait based themselves in Queanbeyan just over the border in NSW. Bruce Stadium played host to six group stage matches and one quarter-final match. One AFC representative labelled the Canberra playing surface as the best of the tournament while tickets sales for Canberra doubled budgeted expectations.[26]
| 2015 Asian Cup Matches in Canberra | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Attendance | ||
| 10 January 2015 | 1–0 | 12,552 | ||||
| 11 January 2015 | 4–1 | 5,513 | ||||
| 13 January 2015 | 0–1 | 8,795 | ||||
| 15 January 2015 | 1–2 | 7,925 | ||||
| 18 January 2015 | 2–1 | 18,457 | ||||
| 20 January 2015 | 2–0 | 10,235 | ||||
| 23 January 2015 | 3–3 (a.e.t), (6–7p) | 18,921 | ||||
The Australian men's national team (the Socceroos) has played in the ACT five times with the first match in 1996 against Tahiti in the second leg of the 1996 OFC Nations Cup Final. In 2015, off the back of Canberra successful 2015 Asian Cup hosting, the nations capital secured a World Cup qualifier for the first time. The Australian national team played Kyrgyzstan in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in the second round of AFC qualifications.[27] In 2019, it was announced the Australian men's national team would return to Canberra for the first time in four years with another world cup qualifier. Australia would come up against Napal in an AFC 2022 World Cup qualifier.[28]
| Australian men's National Team's matches in Canberra | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Event | Ground | Attendance | ||
| 1 November 1996 | 5–0 | 1996 OFC Nations Cup Final | Bruce Stadium | 9,421 | [29] | |||
| 5 March 2009 | 0–1 | 2011 Asian Cup Qualifiers | Bruce Stadium | 20,032 | [30] | |||
| 7 October 2011 | 5–0 | International Friendly | Bruce Stadium | 10,041 | [31] | |||
| 12 November 2015 | 3–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers | Bruce Stadium | 19,500 | [32] | |||
| 10 October 2019 | 5-0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers | Bruce Stadium | 18,563 | [33] | |||
The Australia women's national team (the Matildas) has a long history of playing matches in the ACT. In total the Matildas have played 17 matches in Canberra. The first match against New Zealand was played on 17 March 1995 in an international friendly. The Matildas have been involved in two major FIFA sanctioned tournaments in the ACT. Australia played one group match of the 2000 Olympic Games at Bruce Stadium against Germany. In 2003, McKellar Park played host to the 2003 OFC Women's Championship, Australia went on to win the tournament. In 2019, FFA and the ACT Government announced a deal to bring the Australia women's national team back to Canberra for the first time in six years.[34]
| Australian women's National Team's matches in Canberra | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Event | Location |
| 17 March 1995 | 4–0 | Canberra, Australia | |||
| 19 March 1995 | 2–0 | Canberra, Australia | |||
| 5 March 1997 | 0–3 | Canberra, Australia | |||
| 23 November 1997 | 2–1 | Canberra, Australia | |||
| 10 January 1999 | 4–3 | Bruce Stadium, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 13 January 1999 | 1–0 | Bruce Stadium, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 31 May 2000 | 1–0 | Bruce Stadium, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 13 September 2000 | 0–3 | Bruce Stadium, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 26 January 2003 | 2–0 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 29 January 2003 | 2–0 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 1 February 2003 | 1–3 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 5 April 2003 | 19–0 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 7 April 2003 | 11–0 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 9 April 2003 | 13–0 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 13 April 2003 | 2–0 | McKellar Park, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 7 February 2009 | 1–5 | Bruce Stadium, Canberra, Australia | |||
| 13 June 2013 | 1–0 | AIS Athletics Track, Canberra, Australia | |||
During the history of football in the ACT there has been frequent inter-connection with NSW. The following points detail this connection history:[16] [35]
During the 2006–07 and 2007–08 A-League seasons, Sydney FC played two Pre-Season Cup matches at Bruce Stadium in Canberra.
| Sydney FC's Canberra Pre-Season Cup Matches | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Ground | Attendance | ||
| 22 July 2006 | Sydney FC | 2–1 | Newcastle United Jets | Bruce Stadium | 7,226 | |
| 29 July 2007 | Sydney FC | 0–3 | Central Coast Mariners | Bruce Stadium | 5,735 | |
Since the A-League inception in 2005 a number of interstate A-League teams have travelled to Canberra to conduct training camps, youth coaching clinics and play pre-season trial matches against local ACT clubs and representative teams. A-League teams to have travelled to Canberra include Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle United Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers. ACT clubs to compete in these interstate friendlies include Belconnen United, Canberra FC, Gungahlin United and Canberra Olympic.
| A-League Pre-Season Matches in Canberra | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Home Team | Result | Away Team | Ground | ||
| 2005 | Belconnen United | 0–1 | Sydney FC | McKellar Park | [40] | |
| 2007 | Belconnen United | 0–4 | Central Coast Mariners | McKellar Park | [41] | |
| 2008 | ACT Rockets | 0–4 | Central Coast Mariners | Deakin Stadium | [42] | |
| Belconnen United | 1–2 | Central Coast Mariners | McKellar Park | [43] | ||
| 2009 | Belconnen United | 0–3 | Central Coast Mariners | McKellar Park | [44] | |
| 2010 | Canberra FC | 0–4 | Central Coast Mariners | Deakin Stadium | [45] | |
| Belconnen United | 1–4 | Central Coast Mariners | McKellar Park | [46] | ||
| 2011 | Canberra FC | 1–2 | Central Coast Mariners | Deakin Stadium | [47] | |
| Belconnen United | 0–5 | Central Coast Mariners | McKellar Park | [48] | ||
| 2012 | Canberra Rockets | 1–9 | Newcastle United Jets | McKellar Park | [49] | |
| 2013 | ACT NPL All-Stars | 0–3 | Newcastle United Jets | McKellar Park | [50] | |
| Canberra Olympic | 1–3 | Western Sydney Wanderers | AIS Athletics Track | [51] | ||
| 2014 | Canberra FC | 0–1 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Deakin Stadium | [52] | |
| Canberra FC | 0–5 | Sydney FC | Deakin Stadium | [53] | ||
| 2015 | Belconnen United | 0–3 | Sydney FC | McKellar Park | [54] | |
| Canberra FC | 0–3 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Deakin Stadium | [55] | ||
| Canberra Olympic | 2–3 | Central Coast Mariners | Gungahlin Enclosed Oval | [56] | ||
| Gungahlin United | 1–3 | Central Coast Mariners | Gungahlin Enclosed Oval | [57] | ||
| 2016 | Canberra FC | 1–4 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Deakin Stadium | [58] | |
| Capital North Region Select | 2–2 | Central Coast Mariners | Woden Park | [59] | ||
| Capital South Region Select | 0–4 | Central Coast Mariners | Woden Park | [60] | ||
| 2017 | Canberra Olympic | 0–5 | Newcastle United Jets | Deakin Stadium | [61] | |
In 2007, Belconnen United signed a mutual benefiting relationship agreement with A-League club Central Coast Mariners. The two clubs agreed to play an annual pre-season friendly match in Canberra at McKellar Park named The Bank of Queensland Cup. The agreement opened up opportunities for a development pathway for ACT talent to the A-League while the Mariners gained a foothold within the ACT soccer community.[62] The agreement lasted five years with annual matches played between 2007 and 2011, starting with a 4–0 victory to the visiting Mariners on 30 June 2007.[63]
On 10 April 2015, Belconnen United announced they had formed a formal relationship with A-League heavyweights Sydney FC. The agreement between the two clubs established a formal pathway for Belconnen youngsters to progress and gain the possibility of an A-League contract with Sydney FC. The agreement also opened up ongoing opportunities for Belconnen coaching staff to work with and information share with Sydney FC staff including Graham Arnold. Finally, Sydney FC agreed to tour Canberra in 2015 pre-season to host coaching clinics and play a friendly match against the Blue Devils.[64] Belconnen lost the friendly match against Sydney 0–3 with second half goals to Andrew Hoole, Jacob Tratt and Matt Simon in front of 1,852 fans.[54]
On 2 January 2017, Belconnen United entered into a mutual benefiting agreement with NSW NPL club Wollongong Wolves to co-host a "festival of football" in the South Coast town of Nowra.[65] From 28 to 29 January 2017, the two clubs played a number of women's and men's junior and senior exhibition matches, ran free all-ages coaching and refereeing clinics, training drills, player sessions and family activities at Nowra's Ison Park.[66]
FFA Centre of Excellence (formally Australian Institute of Sport Football Program) – Established in 1981 as one of the eight founding programs at the Australian Institute of Sport.[67] The FFA Centre of Excellence (FFA COE) is run by the national federation of Australia and is based in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory. Funding for the program is provided by the federal Australian Sports Commission. 20 students from all over Australia between the ages 14 and 17 are selected for a 12-month study and development program, with the option of a second year.[68] The FFA COE fields their squad in the top division of men's football in the ACT, NPL Capital Football but is ineligible for the Federation Cup and league finals series. The program has previously competed in the NSW and Victorian Premier Leagues and has produced a host of Australian international players.
Canberra United Academy (CUA) – Established on 15 December 2015 by Capital Football, the CUA was an amalgamation of Capital Football's various elite high performance soccer programs into one entity.[69] CUA is the elite academy for both boys and girls from the ACT and surrounding regions between the ages of 10 and 17. In 2016 the academy fielded their boys squad in the NPL Capital Football but its inclusion was controversial with ACT NPL clubs threatening to form their own breakaway league[70] or boycotting matches[71] at one stage before negotiations with Capital Football avoided that scenario[72] and a compromise was reached for 2017 onwards that would see the boys CUA merge with the FFA COE, with two players selected from CUA to be included in the FFA COE squad.[73] CUA has fielded their girls program in the Women's National Premier League Capital Football since 2016 onwards.
Talent Support Program (TSP), Which is now the Talent Development Scheme (TDS) is the official academy run by Capital football for elite NPL Footballers aged 14-16, The Academy is the pathway for the national youth championships the TDS is run by Phil Booth and Coaches Marcial Munoz, Pete Carbone, Brad Oliviera, Ian Worthington and Grant Barlow, the academy training is held at the Hawker football centre. The Squads are Below for 2024. https://capitalfootball.com.au/talent-support-program-tsp/
U14s: Jacob Hately, Andreas Kaskoutas, Adam Przydacz, Joshua Lopilato, Cooper Wykes, Jacob Pratezina, Cooper San Juan, Logan Volkert, Antun Celebija, Filip Jovcic, Cameron Walsh, Oliver Juric, Orion Henry, Cristian Inacio and Dylan Bates.
U15s: (Coached by Ian Worthington) Zac Harri, Lachlan Forno, Sebastian Paragalli, Cristiano Subasic, Antonio Carbone, Daniel Turcic, Tomislav Celebija, Lemar Katawazai, Isaac Waldren, Max Naunton, Toby Mcphearson, Marc Papandrea, Jonah Briggs, Ashton Stojceski, Anthony Grgic and Nicholas Baird
U16s (Coached by Marcial Munoz) Sebastian Czoban, Nikola Celebija, Flynn Mcdonald-wilson, Marcus Lau, Zac Colson, Rory Dalhlerup, Thomas Blazevski, Charlie Rae, Valentino Ison, Sebastian Munoz, Rico Beltrami, Luka Jukic, Dario Turcic, Freddie Kushnick, Anthony Rakic, Andy Rakic, Thomas Milnes, Adhi Arvind and Michael Lo Pilato
Motivate Football Academy Australia (MFAA) – Established 2013, the MFAA is a private academy based in Canberra. The academy focuses in individual skills, technique and confidence not game tactics and formations.[74]
| ACT Football Associations/Federations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | From | To | ||
| 1 | The Central Southern District British Football Association | April 1914 | July 1914 | |
| 2 | Federal Capital Territory Soccer Football Association | 1926 | 1930 | |
| 3 | Federal Monaro District Soccer Association | 1932 | 1934 | |
| 4 | ACT Soccer Association (under the name Soccer Canberra) | 1960 | 2005 | |
| 5 | ACT Football Federation (under the name Capital Football) | 2005 | Current | |
| Bruce | McKellar | Deakin | Gungahlin | Phillip | Wanniassa | Acton | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canberra Stadium | Deakin Stadium | Gungahlin Enclosed Oval | Woden Park | ANU Willows | |||
| Capacity: 25,011 | Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 1,150 | Capacity: 1,000 | Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 200 | |
| Soccer, Rugby league, Rugby union | Soccer | Soccer | Soccer | Soccer, Athletics | Rugby union, Soccer | Soccer |
ACT representative teams often compete at national junior level competitions and tournaments. ACT representative teams play in yellow, blue and white colours, representing the colours of the ACT found on the Territory's flag. Since 2008 there have been a number of different incarnations of an ACT top flight select XI who has played visiting teams, predominantly visiting A-League teams. This select XI has been named ACT Rockets, Canberra Rockets, Capital Football Select, ACT NPL All-Stars and Capital North/South Region Select. These teams have versed Central Coast Mariners (2008,[75] 2009,[76] 2016[59] [60]) and Newcastle United Jets (2012,[49] 2013[50]) at ACT venues including the Australian Institute of Sport, McKellar Park, Deakin Stadium and Woden Park.