Country Football and Netball Program

The Country Football and Netball Program is delivered in partnership with the AFL, AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria. It provides funding to Local Government Authorities to help regional football and netball clubs, associations and umpiring organisations upgrade and develop facilities in rural, regional and outer metropolitan locations.

Grant amount

Up to $250,000

Important dates

Open: 1 August 2023

Close: 9 October 2023

Program guidelines

Country Football Netball Program Guidelines 2023-24 ( 98.2 KB) Country Football Netball Program Guidelines 2023-24 ( 924.6 KB)

Eligible projects

Examples of projects eligible for funding include:

developing new, or upgrading existing change rooms and pavilions to increase capacity, inclusion and safety
developing new, or upgrading existing sports ovals and courts to increase capacity and safety
sports lighting that improves capacity and safety. Lighting projects may include installing new LED lighting infrastructure, or replacing non-LED lighting with LED lamps to meet lighting standards
projects that result in energy or water efficiency, with a direct impact on participation, such as warm-season grass conversions.

The program reflects the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions’ priorities to ensure the state’s economy benefits all Victorians by creating more jobs for more people, building thriving places and regions, and nurturing inclusive communities.

For details on the program, including its objectives, grant amount available, and eligibility, please refer to the program guidelines.

Eligibility

Only Victorian Local Government Authorities (LGAs) are eligible to apply directly to the Program, limited to:

rural and regional LGAs
interface LGAs for facilities used by teams participating in leagues that are affiliated with an AFL Country League or a Netball Victoria Regional League or for facilities in areas where rurality can be demonstrated
Frankston, Greater Dandenong and Kingston LGAs for facilities used by teams participating in an AFL Victoria Country League.

Applications must be submitted by an authorised representative of an LGA.

Applications received directly from clubs, associations, umpiring organisations, schools, community organisations and businesses will not be considered for funding.

Please read the Guidance Note Auspice Applications (PDF 306.42 KB) .

Application process

Local Government Authorities and Alpine Resorts Victoria

LGAs and Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV) must discuss potential applications with their Sport and Recreation Victoria contact to receive feedback on eligible projects before submitting application/s.

The application process will require the submission of an online application.

Please refer to the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund Guidelines for further information on the application process and requirements for each stream.

Clubs/local organisations

Regional Sports Assemblies, sport and recreation clubs, sporting associations and leagues, educational institutions, community organisations, disability service providers, businesses and individuals cannot directly apply to the Fund.

However, an Expression of Interest Form (for clubs) has been developed to help progress applications if Local Government Authorities (LGAs) and Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV) wish to use this.

Local clubs and organisations are advised to contact their Local Government Authorities and Alpine Resorts Victoria if they wish to express interest, seek support, or be involved as a partner in applications to the fund.

Successful applications

Successful 2023-24 Country Football and Netball Program applications will be announced from February 2024 onwards.

Templates, guides and fact sheets

Templates and fact sheets

Key templates and fact sheets can be found our project information – forms and templates page.

For a list of all required mandatory and desired documents to be submitted with your application/s please refer to the program guidelines.

For a list of all templates and fact sheets see the resources section.

Guides

These publications are intended for use as a guide only. Further specialist advice should be sought on the specifics of your project.

For a list of all guides, please refer to our resources section.

Program area and assistance

Read more about Sport and Recreation Victoria.

For assistance with a project idea and/or an application contact your Sport and Recreation Victoria representative.

For general Sport and Recreation Victoria grant enquiries, please contact us.