The Football Federation of Australia has announced that it will establish a new Digital and Fan Engagement Department that will aim to transform the way the football governing body interacts with an estimated 1.96 million participants in Australian football.

In a well overdue structural change to Australia’s football governing body, the department will be set up at the heart of the FFA business and will seek to collaborate with various stakeholders in providing a world-class experience to fans, players, coaches, club administrators, referees, volunteers and general football consumer.

The FFA has, for quite some time, been behind the ball in terms of growing the world’s most popular sport. However this department is likely to immediately address that in nourishing the game in Australia. The scope of the remit is likely to include technology systems, data, content and consumer sales.

It appears to be a year of real progress for the FFA which in May announced the implementation of the “Whole of Football” plan – a set of tangible, ambitious goals tasked over 20 years aiming in making football the most popular game in Australia.

FFA CEO David Gallop said that the Digital and Fan Engagement Department was a significant decision but a part of the bigger picture.

The game has a clear objective to become the largest and most popular sport in Australia and now we setting up the mechanisms the achieve it. This decision is culmination of extensive work and consultation on strategy and scoping of our digital landscape over the past 18 months. I’m delighted to bring all that effort to life in a new Digital and Fan Engagement department.

Robert Squillacioti has been appointed as Head of the Digital and Fan Engagement Department and will report directly to Gallop.