Football registration cracks all time record

Central Coast Football (CCF) has broken its all-time player registration record cracking 16,000 registered players for the 2025 season.

CCF CEO Alex Burgin said with another two months before registrations close for the year, he expected 1000 more players to sign up.

“This is a huge achievement, reinforcing football’s position as the Coast’s most popular sport and highlighting the continued growth of grassroots participation,” Burgin said.

“With more players than ever, the demand for improved facilities and investment in local infrastructure has never been greater.”

Player registration is expected to reach 20,000 by 2030.

Burgin said CFF’s focus was on giving players good value competitions by investing in referees, coaches, grounds and playing amenities.

“We have done buckets of work around the three core things players expect – referees for every game, a coach who knows what they’re doing and grounds that are open,” he said.

Burgin said incentivising referees with bonuses to cover extra games had paid great dividends.

“We had 100% referee coverage last season, up from 75 to 80% previously,” he said.

“This year our referee numbers will be 400, up from 264 three years ago.”

Over 300 people have taken up the offer of free coaching sessions and CCF will be investing $200,000 a year over five years on upgrading drainage at local grounds as well as improving amenities and lighting.

With 24 clubs and 1432 teams ranging from under 5s to over 45s across the region, Burgin said CFF was determined to provide a good experience for all players.

“Our sport is bigger than rugby league, rugby union, AFL and netball all combined,” he said.

Female registrations are also at an all time high, up 26% on the previous season and expected to increase next year when the Asian Cup is played in Australia at the start of the football season.

“We are expecting that number to go higher next year with the Matildas’ success and the Asian Cup being played here at the start of our season rather than the end,” Burgin said.

“That will be the perfect storm.

“Our Women’s over 35 competition is booming – 14 teams this year up from six last year.

“They play on Friday nights as a deliberate move from CCF to create opportunities for participation away from the hustle and bustle of weekend sport.”

The 2025 season kicks off in three weeks with the first round being played on April 5-6.