The rapidly growing number of junior footballers in Canberra is causing headaches for sporting authorities and the ACT Government, which is concerned about the number of fields available to play matches.
More than 10,000 boys and girls aged five to 17 are registered to play football in the ACT.
Sam Irvine, of the sport’s governing body Capital Football, said the rapid increase in junior ranks had left football officials scrambling to find enough space.
“We’ve definitely seen a 10 percent increase in participation across the sport just for our winter competitions,” he said.
“Luckily, those little feet have minimal impact on the ground, but then again, you’re limited by the amount of grass blades you have access to.”
ACT Sports Minister Shane Rattenbury said although the territory was running out of places to play football, the government was trying to meet demand by opening new facilities.
“We are in constant discussions with Capital Football to ensure we keep up with the growth of the sport,” he said.
“We have recently commissioned a number of new facilities, (such as) Woden, Melrose, sporting venues in Gungahlin, particularly in Harrison.”
Mr Rattenbury said Capital Football’s next strategic plan would be delivered to the government in the coming weeks.
“So we’ll use that as the next point to check with Capital Football where we’re going over the next couple of years.”
Massive growth of junior football in Gungahlin
Playing fields in the Harrison district in Canberra’s north have been opened to meet growing demand for soccer venues. (ABC News: Jonathan Gul)
One of the fastest growing areas for junior football over the past two years is in Gungahlin in Canberra’s north.
Gungahlin United president Ricardo Alberto said the club now had more than 1,400 boys and girls aged five to 17, an increase of 25 per cent on last year.
“Every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. we have over 450 kids starting, so it’s a huge number,” he said.
“There are people here from 7 a.m. every Saturday morning, so a few hours of preparation just to make sure everything goes well.”
Mr Alberto said the club was already spread across three playing facilities, making it difficult to manage effectively.
“It’s difficult to manage young children, it’s difficult to manage volunteers remotely, so larger facilities would make it easier to attract and retain volunteers,” he said.
Mr Irvine said the problem was felt mainly on Saturday mornings in winter, but also during the summer months.
“Some of the biggest challenges are where to play, where to practice and where to train in the off-season,” he said.
“In the past, football was a sport played six months a year, only in winter, but that is definitely changing at the moment.
“Using these grounds that we would traditionally share with cricket, that becomes a problem for us.”
