Frequently Asked Questions

Abbotsford Juniors Football Club (AJFC) is a voluntary community organisation serving junior and senior football players primarily from City of Canada Bay Council suburbs including Abbotsford, Chiswick, Drummoyne, Five Dock, Russell Lea and Wareemba.  The Club is run by an executive management committee of players, parents and interested community members and is a member of the Football Canterbury Association. All tasks involved in organizing and running the Club are carried out by volunteers and members. As a player or parent of a player, you are a member of the Club and your participation would be most welcome.

Abbotsford Juniors Football Club is a member of the Football Canterbury Association with teams participating in the Association’s Winter Football and Summer Football Competitions.

Coaches at Abbotsford Juniors Football Club like most community football clubs, are volunteers, not paid coaches. In younger age groups, each team will need to provide an interested parent, carer or relative to act as the coach for the team. Advice and assistance will be provided by the Club’s coaching coordinators. No experience is necessary but a ‘Give it a Go” attitude means everyone has fun.
 
In older age groups (Under 9 and above) we strongly encourage coaches, whether parents or other interested community members, to undertake an accredited Football NSW coaching course. Abbotsford Juniors Football Club funds this training for interested coaches and course are run regularly throughout the year by Football NSW and the Football Canterbury Association. 

AJFC does not require parents to work in the canteen or run raffles.  On game days when a team is scheduled to do so (when playing the first or last game on a field), parents are required to assist with the setup and packing away of equipment.  At each home game, the team must ensure they provide a Ground Official for their game which the team usually sources from the parent group. Your team’s manager will coordinate these activities.

This said, AJFC has a regular need for volunteers to assist with events or other operational tasks at the Club and so if you have an hour or two to spare of a week, please get in touch with us regarding opportunities to help through our Volunteering page.  

Registration fees vary by age group and according to the football season. Full details of the Club’s registration fees for the different seasons can be found below.

AJFC home games are played at the Club’s home grounds, Campbell Park and Lysaght Park in Chiswick. AJFC teams also play games at other Football Canterbury Association club’s home grounds as part of the home and away season. The majority of home and away games are played across Sydney’s inner west and inner south western suburbs of Sydney.

AJFC currently participates in the Football Canterbury Association run Winter football season competition. This usually commences the first weekend in April and finishes in late August.  Unless exceptional conditions occur such as adverse weather, no games or training sessions are scheduled during the middle weekend of school holidays though games are regularly played on the first and last weekends of school holiday periods.

Registration for the Winter football season will typically open in early January. Player registration should generally be completed prior to season start in April but late registrations may be accepted upon application to the Association as late as May. Details on registration fees and how to register can be found at Winter Season Player Registration.

Training times for Abbotsford Juniors Football Club teams subject to availability and Club rules around field access. The Club has access to Campbell Park and Lysaght Park fields on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 4:30pm in afternoon and evening through until 9:30pm. Mondays and Fridays are not available for team training and weekends are reserved for games. AJFC team training will typically be at least one night per week. Unlike some Clubs,the training day and time selected for your team will be coordinated by team coaches and managers with the agreement of the majority of team members and parents. See our Book a Team Training Time page for more information.

AJFC Under 6 and Under 7 (Mini-Roos) football games are always played on Saturday mornings at Campbell Park. See our Mini Roos Football page for specific times. AJFC Under 7 teams may also participate in gala days where the team plays non-competitive games against other Clubs at their fields. Invitations with dates and times for these events will be sent to teams by the Club.

Football Canterbury Association matches for Under 8 and older teams are played on a home and away basis at grounds located throughout the Canterbury district as follows:

• Under 8 to Under 11 Mixed team games are played on Saturday mornings, generally from 8:00am to 12:00pm
• Under 8 to Under 12 Girls and Under 12 Mixed/Boys team games are played on Sunday mornings, generally from 8:00am to 12:00pm
• Under 13 to Under 18 male team games are played on Sundays, generally with youngest age group games commencing first
• All Age, Over 35, Over 45 and Over 50 Men’s team games are played on Saturday afternoons with the exceptions of Over 35 and Over 45 Division 1 and 2 Men’s games which are played on Friday nights under lights, and All Age Sunday Men games which are played on Sunday
• All competitive (Under 13 and Over) female team games are played on Sundays, again with youngest age group games commencing first

Football Canterbury Association reserves the right to schedule catch-up games as a result of adverse weather for all competitive age groups outside of these rules. This includes teams playing games mid-week of an evening or a Saturday where field access permits. Game schedules, results and league tables for teams Under 8 and over are published by the Association and can be accessed through Dribl.

Please see our Winter Season Player Registration page for information and answers to questions about registration.

Please see our Winter Season Coach and Manager Registration page for information and answers to questions about registration.

Most teams at AJFC, particularly those in early years Under 6 through to Under 8 are formed by groups of players who wish to play competitive or social football with their friends or as part of a school group. The Club does conduct trials and form Candidate Division 1 teams in select age groups with the aim of ensuring highly skilled and motivated players have an opportunity to play in a team with their peers of like skill ability, interest and motivation. 

The Club also caters for individual players with no established connection who wish to play competitive or social football in a division appropriate to their level.

AJFC adult teams are typically formed around established groups of players. Team managers of existing teams will be consulted about the team composition and playing roster for the upcoming year before new registrations are accepted. Players seeking to join teams in adult age groups can expect a trial training session or preseason meeting with the team manager(s) to determine whether a player and visa-versa, the team, are a fit for each other.

Like our junior and youth teams, Abbotsford Juniors Football Club’s adult teams are graded by the Football Canterbury Association into divisions each year based on past season results and player ability.

AJFC does cater for individual players who wish to join a team to play either competitive or social football. Upon registration, the Club will advise you of the playing opportunities available within teams and their playing level before confirming an assignment to a team. This is always conditional on suitable space in an appropriate team being available.

AJFC does have Division 1 teams in several age groups that participate in the Football NSW State Cup. Teams must nominate and be accepted by the Football Canterbury Association. This is usually on the basis of the team’s previous year(s) performance.

Abbotsford Juniors Football Club does conduct trials and grading sessions for junior and youth age group AJFC Academy and selected Candidate Division 1 teams with the aim of ensuring highly skilled and motivated players are provided with an opportunity to play in a team with their peers of like skill ability, interest and motivation. 

AJFC teams are generally formed through February and confirmed in March before the Winter season commencement. The exception are teams formed through AJFC Academy and Candidate Division 1 team trials which will be formed and confirmed in December of the previous year.

AJFC Academy teams are formed via annual player trials held by the AJFC Football Academy Program in Under 8 to Under 12 age groups where there is a high likelihood that a Division 1 standard team can be formed. AJFC Academy teams receive a number of benefits including priority access to paid skills training, the right to purchase an Academy training kit and additional team training sessions. As with all AJFC teams, grading is conducted by the Football Canterbury Association who have the final say on what Division the team will play.

AJFC nominates Winter football season teams to play in a Division the Club believes it will be competitive in. Teams are then graded on the basis of their player history and performance by the Football Canterbury Association Grading Committees. The Association and its Committees have the final say on what Division each team will play. As a result, an existing team may find itself in a higher or lower Division based upon performance and the number of teams submitted each year.

AJFC participates and is able to register players and teams in the Football Canterbury Association run FC Sixes Competition. Many of our teams and players also participate in other local summer football competitions held around the district. The Club does not run competitive football at our home grounds during the summer season due to the lack of access to fields.

The FC Sixes summer football competition starts in early October and runs to mid-December. Other local summer football competitions have different start and end dates.

Registration for Summer competition football will typically open in August with team registration and confirmation required in September. Player registration continues until the competition start in October. For detail on registration fees and how to register can be found at Summer Player Registration.

AJFC teams participating in the FC Sixes competition will play their games in a hub – generally one of either Strathfield Park or Rudd Park. Games may also be played at Beaman Park in some circumstances. Games are played on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings dependent upon age group and location.

Please visit the FC Sixes Competition page on the Football Canterbury Association website for more information.

Please see our Summer Season Registration page for information and answers to questions about registration.

Most teams for Summer football season competitions are formed by preexisting groups of AJFC players who wish to continue play competitive or social football in the Summer season. Given the number of Summer football competition options in the area, the Club has limited opportunity to form new teams of players or accept individual player registrations. If you have a query regarding a group of players or an entire team wishing to join AJFC to play Summer season football with the Club, please contact the AJFC Registrar.

AJFC has limited availability for individual players who are interested in playing Summer football. Upon registration, the Club will advise you of the playing opportunities available within teams and their playing level before confirming an assignment to a team. This is always conditional on suitable space in an appropriate team being available.

Most of our AJFC teams are formed by groups of players from our existing Winter competition teams. The Club does not conduct trials or team formation days for Summer football teams and therefore has very limited capacity for individual players with no established connection who wish to play Summer football.

AJFC teams are generally formed through the months of August and September prior to the Summer season commencement.

Players will require shin pads/guards, boots and a drink bottle. Shin pads/guards must be worn by children for all training and games.  This is critical for player safety – NO shin pads, NO play.

A playing kit consisting of a jersey, shorts and a pair of socks are provided for new players joining the Club for the first time as part of your registration fee.  The Club provides all players with a playing jersey each season prior to the commencement of games while shorts and socks can be ordered by new players from the Club Store (delivery fees apply).

Players retain their shorts and socks at the end of the season and return their playing jersey to the Club along with their team-mates’ jerseys via their coach and manager at the end of the season. 

Returning players/members are able to use their shorts and socks from the previous season where they still fit.  Should it be necessary, new shorts and socks can be purchased from the online Club Store.

As Abbotsford Juniors Football Club is a volunteer led and run organisation please check this website or the Club’s Facebook page first to see if the information you require is available there. If it is not, please feel free to contact AJFC at info@abbotsfordjuniorsfc.com.au.