New Capital Football headquarters to be built in $20m ACT Government investment

Capital Football CEO Phil Brown said the injection of funds will have a significant benefit for the future of Canberra football. Photo: George Tsotsos.

Capital Football’s long-awaited ‘Home of Football’ is to be a reality through significant funding from the ACT Government in Tuesday’s budget.

Canberra will have a new headquarters for football which will be built at Throsby, after the ACT Government pledged $20 million investment in the 2019-20 ACT Budget.

The ‘Home of Football’ will feature multiple outdoor fields, indoor futsal courts, office space for Capital Football, and associated amenities.

Capital Football will also dip into their own back pocket and contribute $4.5 million to build the facility, which is expected to be operational during the second half of 2021.

As part of the partnership, Canberra fans will see the Matildas and the Socceroos play in the nation’s capital in the next 18 months, with FFA promising three elite games to Canberra in the next two years.

Capital Football has been looking for a parcel of land in the ACT to establish a headquarters for the entire football community for some time as many facilities are already operating at capacity.

Capital Football CEO Phil Brown said the Government funding will help the football governing body plan for the future.

“This high performance and community facility is just as much about providing for the grassroots as it is about providing a training base for our elite teams, such as Canberra United,” he said.

“The ‘Home of Football’ facility represents a real opportunity for strategic growth in football in the ACT.”

Mr Brown said the establishment of futsal courts will contribute to gender parity in football in the territory.

“In Canberra, 42 per cent of futsal players are female. This is more than double the national average for females of 20 per cent,” he said.

“With futsal centres in Canberra at capacity, the new facility will provide an opportunity to run more competitions that will support our work to achieve parity with male participation.”

More to come.