The 2026 Capital Football Awards Night brought a memorable season to a close on Friday 18 September, as clubs, volunteers, players and staff gathered at QT Canberra to celebrate the year’s achievements.
And there was plenty to celebrate. This season 20,957 players took part in Capital Football competitions, contesting 7,517 matches and scoring 10,104 goals.
Our U-13 Boys team were crowned champions in the National Futsal Championships early in the year. Chigozie Ogbonnaya’s efforts throughout the tournament saw him named U-13 Player of the Tournament, and selected in the Juniors Team of the Tournament.
Canberra Olympic’s Tehya Aspland received recognition for her national team endeavours with the CommBank Junior Matildas, while Canberra Croatia junior Michael Pratezina was selected in the Young Socceroos squad.
Luc Launder and Carly Salmon were named in the Pararoos and Paramatildas squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cups.
It was also a fantastic year for the growth of the game in our community, with Capital Football delivering programs to 27 primary schools across the region, engaging more than 1,600 participants, a 46 per cent increase from 2025, with another school term still to come.
We also began a partnership with Yerrabi Group to help engage First Nations children through football, supported five MiniRoos club Gala Days, delivered six MiniRoos pop-up activations, and re-established the Daughters & Dads program, with five programs being delivered this year.
This year’s Kanga Cup welcomed around 344 teams, over 4,300 players and more than 700 team officials, who came together in Canberra for a huge week of football. The tournament once again brought together teams from across Australia and welcomed international teams from Indonesia and Chinese Taipei, adding to another memorable Kanga Cup both on and off the pitch.
We recognised our clubs too, with Lanyon United being recognised as the August 2026 Club Changer of the Month for its commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion. We also celebrated West Canberra Wanderers, who achieved 3-Star Club Changer status, recognising the club’s ongoing commitment to strengthening its club environment and providing a positive experience for its football community.
Our referee achieved plenty in 2026, Georgia Ghirardello receiving praise for being named on the Australian FIFA International Referee List for the first timer, becoming the first central referee from Canberra to wear a FIFA badge since Ben Williams’ retirement in 2016.
Owen Goldrick was appointed to the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup and as Assistant Referee One for the Singapore Cup Final, while Casey Flior and Josh Eiser made their Australia Cup Round of 32 debuts.
At the end of the 2026 campaign, Delfina Shakespear called time on an incredible 17-year career that spanned across the A-Leagues and locally in the capital. Shakespear refereed over 200 matches in the ACT top flight, including a 2019 campaign which saw her named both NPL Men’s and Women’s Referee of the Year, to go alongside a record-equaling 125 matches as an assistant in the A-League Women’s.
We also had our very own ACT officials involved across the National Futsal Championships, Emerging Matildas and Emerging Socceroos Championships, Junior Matildas fixtures and the Young Matildas matches against New Zealand.
At senior level, Canberra Croatia was recognised for securing qualification to the Australian Championship for the second consecutive year, while Tigers FC took to the national stage in the Australia Cup, facing Western Sydney Wanderers at McKellar Park.
Finally, we looked back on our 2026 Charity Shield, as our football community raised $3,746.09 for the Josh4Hearts Foundation.
Award Recipients:
The first round of awards saw our match officials take the spotlight, as Benjamin Blair and Nathan Shakespear picked up the NPL Women’s and Men’s Referee of the Year Awards.
Tigers FC’s Ali Efe claimed NPL Coach of the Year after his team’s three-trophy haul in 2026, while Benji Keomanivong took home Futsal Coach of the Year after success with the U-13s ACT team at the National Futsal Championships.
Following the announcements of the Capital Futsal League (CFL) teams of the year, North Fire Inferno’s Nat De Marco took home CFL Women’s Player of the Year, while West Canberra Lightning’s Jackson White-Brettell took home the Men’s accolade.
For the National Premier Leagues (NPL), Izzy Hindmarsh took home the title of NPL Women’s Player of the Year following a commanding season in midfield for Belconnen United, capped off by a superb Grand Final display.
Shandon Whitehead was voted NPL Men’s Player of the Year, after the former full-back took on the goalscoring mantle for Canberra Croatia in 2026 with 20 league strikes, seven coming in his team’s crucial three-game run-in to the league title.
Innovative Program of the Year was awarded to Tuggeranong United for the club’s Player-Oriented Development (PODs) – Game Changers Program, targeted at strengthening connections across its girls’ player pathway.
Belconnen United’s Hamish Cresswell took home Volunteer of the Year, after his commitment to creating a genuine sense of belonging for players, coaches, families and volunteers.
His contribution, and the contributions of countless others at the club culminated in the Blue Devils claiming Club of the Year for 2026, after demonstrating high levels of professionalism, stability and success throughout the year.
Finally, the entire community was able to celebrate two outstanding contributors to football in the region, as Ian and Andrea Hotchkiss were formally recognised for their Life Membership admittance from earlier in the year.
Both received a standing ovation, a deserved response to almost 50 years of football involvement in the ACT, spanning refereeing, administration, mentoring, development and the growth of women’s football.
Check out the full list of winners below:
Referee of the Year
| AWARD | RECIPIENT |
| Capital League Women’s Referee of the Year | Duc Mac |
| Capital League Open Referee of the Year | David Hakaraia |
| NPL Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year | Cailyn Loveday |
| NPL Women’s Referee of the Year | Benjamin Blair |
| NPL Men’s Assistant Referee of the Year | Joshua Eiser |
| NPL Men’s Referee of the Year | Nathan Shakespear |
Coach of the Year
| AWARD | RECIPIENT |
| Futsal Coach of the Year | Benji Keomanivong |
| Community League Coach of the Year | Kerrie McCaffrey (Tigers FC) |
| NPL Youth Coach of the Year | Peter Spiller (Canberra Croatia FC) |
| NPL Senior Coach of the Year | Ali Efe (Tigers FC) |
Capital Futsal League Women’s Team of the Year
| Ellie Summers | West Canberra Lightning Blue |
| Jamie Berkeley | West Canberra Lightning Blue |
| Nat De Marco | North Fire Inferno |
| Stella De Marco | North Fire Inferno |
| Jasmine Richards | North Fire Flames |
Capital Futsal League Men’s Team of the Year
| Jackson White-Brettell | West Canberra Lightning |
| Jonathan Ciminelli | North Fire Inferno |
| Noah Prail | South Swift White Tigers |
| Ryan Straub | South Swift Green |
| Jack Ellwood | South Swift White Tigers |
NPL Women’s Team of the Year
| Ellie Summers | Canberra Croatia FC |
| Hannah Bourke | Canberra Croatia FC |
| Eleanor Raymond | Canberra Croatia FC |
| Ailish McDonagh | Belconnen United FC |
| Tehya Aspland | Canberra Olympic FC |
| Jamie Berkeley | Canberra Croatia FC |
| Izzy Hindmarsh | Belconnen United FC |
| Anneke Corry | Belconnen United FC |
| April Hill | Canberra Croatia FC |
| Alyssa Di-Campli | Belconnen United FC |
| Alina Roberts | Belconnen United FC |
NPL Men’s Team of the Year
| Nicholas Middleton | Queanbeyan City FC |
| Samuel Whithear | Tigers FC |
| Max Mellick | Monaro Panthers FC |
| Tony Spaseski | Canberra Croatia FC |
| Jack Green | Tuggeranong United FC |
| Aidan Milicevic | Tigers FC |
| Xabier Davies | Tuggeranong United FC |
| Josh Pedersen | Tuggeranong United FC |
| Romeo Jambrek | Queanbeyan City FC |
| Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu | Monaro Panthers FC |
| Shandon Whitehead | Canberra Croatia FC |
Player of the Year
| AWARD | RECIPIENT |
| NPL Men’s U-23s Player of the Year | Kade Lyons (Canberra Croatia FC) |
| NPL Women’s Reserves Player of the Year | Pia McGhie (Canberra Croatia FC) |
| NPL Men’s Player of the Year | Shandon Whitehead (Canberra Croatia FC) |
| NPL Women’s Player of the Year | Izzy Hindmarsh (Belconnen United FC) |
| CFL Men’s Player of the Year | Jackson White-Brettell (West Canberra Lightning) |
| CFL Women’s Player of the Year | Nat De Marco (North Fire Inferno) |
innovative program of the year
| NOMINATED | WINNER |
| South Canberra FC: Women’s Pre-Season Performance, Injury Prevention and Return-to-Play Program. | Tuggeranong United: Player Oriented Development, or PODs – Game Changers Program |
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
| NOMINATED | WINNER |
| Mark Stoya (Canberra White Eagles FC) | Hamish Cresswell (Belconnen United FC) |
| Kristin McKinnon (ANU WFC) |
CLUB OF THE YEAR
| NOMINATED | WINNER |
| Canberra Juventus FC | Belconnen United FC |
