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The MFA is pleased to advise that the 2023 Winter Season draws are now available for all Leagues up until 30 June 2023.

Matches scheduled from 1 July onwards will be available shortly. We thank you for your understanding and patience as we onboard our new Competition Management System, Squadi.

We share the disappointment and frustration of the Football Family with the current status of the season draws. There are several factors which have led to the delay in creating the 2023 season draw, including (but not limited to):

– Limited time to onboard the new technology and learn the system;
– Issues with Football Australia and the API between Play Football and Squadi;
– Specific developments and enhancements required that are unique to the MFA;
– The list of exceptions requested by affiliated clubs;
– Time to set-up and test system functionality; and
– Hardware issues.

We wish to reassure the Football Family that this is simply a symptom of adopting and onboarding a new system. Squadi is an end-to-end solution that serves all segments of the Football Family, including the MFA as the Competition Manager, Local Clubs, the Referees, Team Officials, and of course, Players and Parents.

The Squadi system is arguably the best Competition Management platform in the market currently and the team at World Sport Action (WSA) provide exceptional client and customer support.

Whilst we apologize for the delay in delivery the full season draw, we make absolutely no apologies for moving off the GameDay system and selecting Squadi as our Competition Management solution and are extremely confident it will serve the Football Family well for a long time to come.

All draws, results and ladders can be viewed on the Squadi app. We encourage all registered players and officials to download the Squadi app – all you’ll need to get through the 2023 Community Football Season.

The MFA is excited to welcome a new club to the Football Family: The Glenfield Lions Football Club.

The Lions will call Blinman Oval, Glenfield home in season 2023. The venue features two full size fields, floodlighting, and a new amenities building.

The club has commenced taking registrations for MiniRoos (U6 – U11) teams for the upcoming season and is accepting the Active Kids Voucher.

For more information visit the club website:

Glenfield Lions FC – Soccer Team – Australia

or contact club President Bellal Jaber: 0414 449 669

The Macarthur Football Association (MFA), together with the Macarthur District Football Referees Association (MDFRA), are implementing a number of initiatives aimed at introducing more referees to a safe and enjoyable community football experience in 2023.

There are a number of courses available between now and the start of the season, ensuring every opportunity is provided to those looking to take the first step on their journey to becoming a referee.

To make things even easier, the annual Referee membership fee for new referees will be heavily subsidised by both Associations.

Game Leaders for MiniRoos games (also known as SSG Referees) will pay just $80 for the year, which includes the cost of the course and a uniform package for the season. Junior Referees (U12 and over) will pay just $100, while Senior Referees will pay $120.

Match fees for Referee have also been increased significantly, making it even more rewarding to officiate our great game.

All new referees will be wearing an armband in 2023, to raise awareness among the football community that these match officials are in training. The initiative is designed to alleviate abuse towards referees and protect the physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing of those that choose to pick up a whistle.  There will also be signage displayed at local grounds promoting this important initiative. Abuse of any kind towards referees will not be tolerated and those that engage in such disrespectful behaviour will be sanctioned accordingly.

Lastly, a new mentoring program has been established, which will pair senior, seasoned match officials with younger referees, in another effort to provide comfort and support for an often thankless task.

The MFA and MDFRA are extremely excited by these new initiatives and are looking forward to welcoming and keeping more referees to the ranks in 2023.

For more information visit www.mdfra.com.au

Wests Group Macarthur has announced another key milestone in their support of sport in Macarthur with the execution of a major partnership agreement with Macarthur Football Association (MFA) for the 2023 season making them the premier partner of football in Macarthur.

The new deal will see Wests provide $100,000 in funding, plus additional in-kind and venue support, toward MFA making them the single largest supporter of football in the region.

In addition to a significant investment towards subsidized player insurance fees to alleviate fee pressure on families, Wests is thrilled to add Macarthur RAMS Women’s FC to its ongoing support of Macarthur Rams FC and be the new major partner of the M-League Competition.

The local M-League Competition will kick off from Friday, 17 March, and be comprised of four Leagues and 600 players across the U21 Colts, Men’s First and Reserve Grades, and Women’s First Grade. The Men’s Competition will feature eight clubs right across the Macarthur regions while the women’s M-League will see six clubs from Macarthur and six clubs from the SDSFA.

Chairperson of the Macarthur Football Association Darcy Lound comments “Despite an interrupted period due to the global health pandemic, the M-League Competition has continued to thrive, and in 2023 it will only get better as we welcome Wests Group Macarthur as the new sponsor of the M-League competition. This partnership with Wests Group Macarthur ensures the MFA can continue to provide significant value to the M-League community”.

Chairperson of Wests Group Macarthur Alan Buxton says of the sponsorship, “Wests has been a long supporter of Football in Macarthur with over 10 years of partnership with MFA. We are thrilled to be able to support further pathways, stronger competitions, and better opportunities for players and their families from Under 9’s all the way through to the local Premier League competition”.

In addition to direct funding, Wests will be providing dining vouchers for M-League ‘Match Moment’ players of the round and be the preferred venue & events partner of the MFA and member clubs in 2023 with many key events to take place at Wests League Club including the 2023 Premiers Presentation, M-League Awards Night, and end-of-season events.

The partnership was officially launched yesterday evening 30^th January at Lynwood Park with Wests Group Macarthur Chairperson Alan Buxton and Director Greg Copeland joined by representatives from each of the M-League teams and key members of Macarthur Football Association.

Wests looks forward to collaborating to support Football in the region and continuing to support the MFA through various awards programs and promotional opportunities Wests has to offer.

For more on the Wests Sports Council and Wests Group commitment to being the Home of Sport visit www.westslc.com.au/Sport

Outgoing St Mary’s Club President Ian Kelly was elected as a Director to the MFA Board at the 2022 AGM on Wednesday evening. It was the only change to the MFA Board, with Nathan Cameron stepping down due to personal reasons.

Kelly was joined by Peter Kovacsics and Steve Holzer as elected Directors, while Life Member Jenny Mazuran was reelected as the Director of the Competition Management Committee.

MFA Chairman Darcy Lound congratulated the elected Directors, and thanked Nathan Cameron for his contribution over the past couple of seasons.

In other developments, long-serving Narellan Rangers administrator Peter Head has become the 17th Life Member of the MFA, following a vote of the members at the AGM. Head has served the Association in a variety of roles, including Judiciary, over many years and is one of the most respected figures across Macarthur Football.

Head was also on hand to accept the prestigious Club Championship Award, taken out by Narellan Rangers SC following a season which landed nine Premierships and six Championships.

Bradbury Ambarvale was also honoured as the Club of the Year (under 500 registered players).

The Camden Tigers were recognised as the Junior Club of the Year, while Eschol Park FC won the inaugural Female Club of the Year honour.

With the 2022 Winter Season behind us, we’d like to hear from the players about your experience in 2022.

The purpose of this short survey is to simply gauge the level of satisfaction with the 2022 playing experience.

This particular survey targets our competition players (U12 and up).

There will be a separate survey for the MiniRoos players (U5 – U11) shortly.

Responses are complete anonymous and will be used to help us understand how we can improve the playing experience further for future generations.

The survey closes 12pm Monday, 26 September 2022

Here are the key details you need to know as we head into the most exciting period of the season!

Determining the Premiers

In the event that more than one team finishes the competition on equal highest points, the Premiers will be determined as follows:

• Most points from games played between the two teams during the season;
• If this still doesn’t separate the teams, the Premiership is decided based on the highest goal difference from games played between the two teams during the season.

For further information regarding this, please refer to section 13 of the MFA Competition Regulations.

2022 Finals Series

The top 4 teams across each League qualify for finals.

For the avoidance of doubt, if there is a tie for fourth spot, the same rules that determine the Premier applies.

The Finals take place over three weeks, commencing immediately after the last round of the regular season:

Week One: Semi-Finals

First Semi Finals: 3 v 4

• loser eliminated
• winner through to preliminary final

Second Semi Final: 1 v 2

• Loser to winner preliminary final
• Winner through to Grand Final

Week 2: Preliminary Final

• Winner of 3 v 4 up against the loser of 1 v 2
• Winner off the Grand Final

Week 3: Grand Finals

• Winner of the second semi-final vs winner of the preliminary final.

Grand Final matches will take place as follows:

The Macarthur Football Association (MFA) and Southern Districts Soccer Football Association (SDSFA) have joined forces to establish a 12-team Women’s Premier League competition for season 2022.

With Football for Women and Girls a strategic priority for both Associations, the joint initiative is designed to strengthen the League and create a competitive and enjoyable playing experience for the best female talent across the South-West.

MFA Chairman Darcy Lound announced on Monday that the League, to be known as the M-League, will feature seven teams from Macarthur and five teams from Southern Districts and will consist of 22 rounds commencing in mid-March.

“The expanded League is sure to add some unpredictability and excitement to the Women’s Game”. Lound said.

Joining the MFA Chairman at the announcement was SDSFA Head of Football Catherine Cannuli and Football NSW Head of Women’s Football Hayley Todd.

Cannuli believes the new Women’s M-League competition provides another pathway for young female players to aspire to.

“We’ve been working really hard on the development of our young female footballers and to now have roles models in this League to look up to, ahead of the Women’s World Cup in 2023, is unbelievable. We’re really proud to be merging with Macarthur and can’t wait to see where this goes.” Cannuli said

Todd congratulated both Macarthur and Southern Districts for the ‘progressive move’.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the female players in this region, and with the Women’s World Cup on our doorstep it’s going to go a long way to promote female football in both Associations”. Todd said.

The MFA will manage the M-League, with the Match of the Round to be streamed live thanks to media partners Jum Media. As an added incentive, up to $8,000 in prizemoney is up for grabs for Premiers and Champions of the League.

The 12 teams competing in the Women’s M-League include the Camden Tigers, Harrington Hornets, Tahmoor Taipans, Oran Park Rovers, Eschol Park Wolves, St Mary’s Saints, Narellan Rangers (MFA clubs), Liverpool City Robins, Sporting Rovers, AC United, Liverpool Rangers, and Sydney United (SDSFA clubs).

Darcy Lound will continue to serve as the Chairman of the Macarthur Football Association, after he was elected by the Members at the Annual General Meeting of the MFA on Thursday, 18 November at Ottimo House.

Lound was first elected as Chairman in 2016 and has overseen a very successful period for the game during his tenure, which has led to record participation rates in the region.

Lound will continue to serve with on the MFA Board with Rob Milne (Financial Controller), Colin Campbell, and Rahul Lachman (Association Directors), whom were all re-elected by the Members at the AGM.

Despite the disruption of a global health pandemic over the past two seasons, the MFA did report a small operating suplus for the 2021 Financial Year, thanks to the assistance of Government Grants and sound management of expenditure. More importantly, the MFA was able to do this while also securing significant fee reductions and relief for its member clubs.

As well as the election of Directors, the members also elected the Competition Management Committee (to continue under the leadership of Jenny Mazuran) and the Appeals Committee.

The MFA recognised the contributions of many long-serving club volunteers during the AGM, including Cathy Middleton (Bradbury), Mark Besgrove (Eschol Park), Paul Abboud, Garry Gorman, Simon Moore (Mt Annan), Billy Falconer, and Peter Thomas (Narellan).

The MFA also recognised Douglas Park Wilton FC, St Mary’s Eagle Vale, Burragorang District, and the Camden Falcons as the latest clubs to complete the National Club Development Program and earn a star-rating, taking the total number across Macarthur to twelve.