Football Australia today released the 2021 Australian Football Domestic Match Calendar (DMC).
Australia’s 2021 DMC has been developed in line with Principle IV of the XI Principles for the future of Australian Football (XI Principles) as a means to connect all levels of Australian football. It also connects the domestic game to global football by taking into account FIFA’s International Match Calendar, as well as key Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition dates.
Australia’s 2021 DMC has been released to provide enhanced transparency to football stakeholders to improve and facilitate planning of football activities, increase the possibility of creating unique football experiences through stakeholder alignment and engagement, and to drive participation and growth. It will remain fluid and flexible considering the challenges that continue to exist nationally and internationally due to COVID-19.
Football Australia Chief Executive Officer, James Johnson, said Football Australia expects that 2021 will be a year of transition towards a completely unified and integrated approach, with the ultimate objective being optimum alignment of Australia’s football activities.
“Flowing on from the unbundling of the Professional Leagues from Football Australia, an important regulatory function for Football Australia as the game’s Governing Body is to set the Domestic Match Calendar in order to lead the realignment of Australia’s football competitions and connect the football pyramid both domestically and globally,” Johnson said.
“Today’s release of the 2021 DMC to football stakeholders, and to the public, is an important step in that process, and we expect to achieve even greater alignment in 2022 as COVID-19 eases and we apply key learnings and insights from 2021.
"Australia’s Domestic Match Calendar will play a vital role in Football Australia’s proposed new and modern transfer system by articulating domestic Transfer Windows which will provide opportunities to progressive clubs at all levels of the sport to conduct player transfer business and generate new revenue streams which can be deployed into the ongoing training and development of players, and the clubs themselves.
“The Domestic Match Calendar will also be fundamental to bringing to life numerous measures proposed in the XI Principles, which in turn supports our bold and exciting new strategic direction for Australian football. The DMC will aid the optimisation of competitions across all levels of the game, help us to reimagine the player pathway, help to increase match minutes for players both in club football and with our national teams, and support football as a sport which is played all year round,” he said.
Key features of the 2021 Australian Football DMC include registration periods for Australia’s professional competitions, A-League and Westfield W-League competition windows, national team activity windows, Final Rounds match dates for the FFA Cup, and a standalone slot for the soon-to-be-introduced Festival of Football Week to be held in connection with the FFA Cup 2021 Final.
To access the 2021 Australian Football Domestic Match Calendar, please click here.
