Popular VicHealth Soccer Mums program to continue as GO Soccer Mums

Popular VicHealth Soccer Mums program to continue as GO Soccer Mums

Football Victoria, with support from VicHealth’s Active Women and Girls funding, established the Soccer Mums program in 2017. It was born from VicHealth research, which identified accelerated growth in non-organised participation, compared to the traditional club-based sport.

Soccer Mums provides a social alternative for women to learn the basics of football, break the barriers to participation and enjoy a fun, judgement-free way to be involved with other likeminded women. It allows for participation without any experience, removing the constraints of competition and rules.

The program has grown to over 70 locations in Victoria, with over 1300 participants being afforded the opportunity to engage in our beautiful game.

The success of the program to date can be attributed to how the community has embraced the concept. We thank our partners, clubs and deliverers who helped showcase Soccer Mums and drive expansion of the program to this point.

We are developing a Sustainable Operating Model that will enable continued growth via a social, club-based model. The new model includes an update to the program name, to GO Soccer Mums.

We expect all current programs will be adapted into this new model to enable a sustainable legacy, with ongoing support from VicHealth.

While we are currently restricted by the Stage 3 lockdown across areas of Victoria, the pilot for the new GO Soccer Mums initiative will follow the below framework: 

  • Ten locations that were part of the previous Soccer Mums programs across the past two years, will be selected to trial the GO Soccer Mums Sustainable Operating Model. This will be hosted on the GO Football platform for Term 3 in 2020.
  • Remaining existing locations/programs will continue in Term 3 as per previous operating arrangements.
  • Once the pilot is completed, it is expected all previous existing programs will move onto the GO Football platform for Term 4 as a Sustainable Operating Model.

(Note: timelines are subject to change, in response to COVID-19 restrictions)

There are many women in Victoria changing our game for the better, both on and off the park. These women have amazing stories that we are committed to sharing, to inspire other women to leave the sidelines and live happier, healthier lives by being involved in a GO Soccer Mums program. 

On behalf of Football Victoria, we would like to thank our GO Soccer Mums community and partners for the wonderful support across the past two years. We are looking forward to expanding the program throughout Victoria for many years to come.