Football boom drives Surf Coast club towards 1,000 players

THE Surf Coast Football Club is on the cusp of becoming a 1,000-player club, with participation surging across juniors and women’s football as global tournaments fuel renewed interest in the sport.

The club recorded more than 880 players in 2025 and expects numbers to climb sharply over the next 12 months, driven by rapid growth in female participation and a strong pipeline of junior players.

Club president Brett King said registrations had climbed at an unprecedented rate over the past two years.

“In the last two years we’ve had a 90 per cent increase in registered women and girls and a big jump in junior boys,” he said.

“We had 69 teams registered with the Football Federation of Victoria in 2025. This year we’re looking like having three senior women’s teams, five men’s teams and well over 500 juniors.

“Whilst it’s daunting to organise all the volunteers to get people training and playing games, there’s no doubt the growth of female participation has added significantly to the development of the club culture.”

With the Matildas playing in the Asia Cup and the Socceroos taking on the FIFA World Cup this year, King is expected another jump in numbers.

Surf Coast FC is now the sixth largest soccer club in Victoria, a rise that has been matched by growing recognition at state level.

 

The club was last year named Victorian Regional Club of the Year and has since secured Football Federation Victoria accreditation to deliver elite development pathways for both girls and boys, including the Girls Community Premier League and the boys high-performance Advanced Pathways Program.

King said the expansion into elite programs would sit alongside, not replace, the club’s long-held focus on participation.

“We have always been a club for everyone. That core principle won’t change,” he said.

“We don’t see it as a choice between being a participation or an elite club. They both work together.

“High performance teams inspire and drive participation. That’s the circle we want.”

Despite the strong growth, King said access to suitable playing surfaces remained the club’s biggest challenge.

“We have been working with the shire on pitch renewal, and the club has now developed a long-term vision around future playing surface needs,” he said.

“We want to move toward having two artificial surfaces so we can get the best usage of every square metre of our playing surfaces.

“This will also help keep the club together in the Banyul Warri location, and maintain the welcoming vibe we’ve created through things like the weekly Friday night get-together events, which are also a bridge for new families moving to the Surf Coast.”