The release of the 2023 Sporting Schools report has spotlighted football as one of the preferred sports within the schools landscape, reaffirming the popularity of the sport in schools around Australia.
These results not only reflect a growing passion for the sport, but also highlights a generation of football enthusiasts inspired by the achievements of the CommBank Matildas and the Subway Socceroos.
The ascent of football from the 4th most demanded sport for Sporting Schools in 2022 to the 2nd spot in 2023 signifies its growing popularity.
Notably, Queensland and Western Australia led the success of Football in 2023 by being the most demanded sport within their states, with the rest of the country staying in the top 5 positions of all sports.
| State/Territory | Position |
| ACT | 3rd |
| NSW (includes NNSW) | 4th |
| NT | 3rd |
| QLD | 1st |
| SA | 5th |
| TAS | 5th |
| VIC | 4th |
| WA | 1st |
Approximately 16,874 schools were funded nationwide across four terms of 2023, facilitating an average participation of nearly 620,000 students per term.
The 2024 Term 2 Funding window is open from Monday 26 February to 5pm AEDT Friday 8 March.
