About Us

Manly Warringah Football Association Inc. (MWFA) was formed in 1947 and is the governing body for football (soccer) in the Manly Warringah area, incorporating over 18,500 football participants – the biggest Football Association in Australia.

MWFA is responsible for the organisation and delivery of amateur football competitions across the entire Northern Beaches and Mosman Local Government areas from Under 6 through to over 45s, for men and women.

The MWFA is managed by a Board of Directors with a full-time administration staff of six people, led by a Chief Executive Officer and services the operations and needs of 17 Member Clubs, Manly United Football Club and the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association.

The MWFA Member Clubs have formed, amalgamated and changed over the last 70 years to cater for population increases and shifts within the area. All 17 Member Clubs have players in the junior and senior competitions and MWFA also runs competitions and programs for sub-juniors and MiniRoos

The players are made up of men, women, boys and girls, starting their football journey at the age of five years old and playing through to the Over 45 competitions. Football’s participation numbers and breadth of competitions highlight its greatest strength – Inclusion – whereby age and gender are no barrier to playing football in Manly Warringah.

The Manly Warringah football ecosystem also includes 1,671 coaches, 659 referees and 1,333 volunteers with a gender profile of 67% male and 33% female.

In the Summer months, Manly United Football Club runs a six-a-side competition at Cromer Park and also authorises four Member Clubs to run similar competitions around the area to ensure football can be enjoyed 12 months of the year.

MWFA also works closely with Active Opportunities Inc. to deliver Football4All, which assists with providing a safe and enjoyable football program for people with a disability. This is run out of Cromer Park, the “Home of Football” on the Northern Beaches.

 

 

Cromer Park – “Home of Football”

MWFA and Manly United Football Club run its operational, administrative, football and representative programs out of Cromer Park, which boasts five football fields as well as administration and amenities buildings.

The Main field boasts an undercover grandstand for 1,000 people, seating around the ground for another 1,000 people, a capacity for a further 3,000 people to watch games in comfortable standing areas, corporate and media facilities, a world class synthetic stadium, dressing room and canteen facilities, parking and a licensed clubhouse.

Construction of a second synthetic pitch in the 2018 season and a world-class upgrade to the Cromer Park 1 synthetic pitch at the start of the 2022 season, makes Cromer Park the best grassroots football facility in New South Wales.

MWFA and Manly United have strong relationships with the Northern Beaches Council, which operates the outside football fields to ensure the Cromer Park facility is available and offers benefits to all 18,406 Members of the Northern Beaches football community.

Cromer Park is the training ground for all Manly United Football Club and MWFA representative teams and hosts weekend matches for teams and players in the local competitions, as well as hosting Grand Final Days for all local competitions; Senior Men’s, Women’s and Juniors.

 

Representative Pathways

Manly United Football Club is an affiliate of the Manly Warringah Football Association and caters for representative players from the area. The Club operates Development squads from six years of age and enters teams for boys and girls in the Skills Acquisition Program (SAP) for children aged 9-12 years, Youth League for children aged 13 to 16 and right through to senior men’s first grade and women’s first grade.

 

The Far Post Cromer

In 2021 construction upgrades were made to the MWFA clubhouse to bring to life, The Far Post Cromer, a place for all of the Northern Beaches Football community to call a true “Home of Football”. The Far Post Cromer is a place to relax, gather and enjoy a meal or a drink where football will always be king on the TV and the chatter. With spacious indoor and outdoor seating with a perfect view of Cromer Park 1, The Far Post Cromer is the perfect home of football.

 

Manly Warringah Football Mission Statement

A progressive community based Football organisation dedicated to providing a safe, integrated pathway for all participants by developing, encouraging and supporting their Football aspirations