Rishabh Kothari is back for another season with the senior men’s side in 2026. Photo by Matthew Kappos.
Border Raiders Football Club is heading into the 2026 season navigating unique challenges, contending with Football Victoria’s new statewide structure and trialling a new initiative to attract more volunteers.
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In December, FV announced a takeover of all regional associations, bringing an end to bodies such as the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League, which has been replaced by FV Greater Bendigo.
Border Raiders president Craig Danswan said this change had been the biggest for his club in the off-season, and he was hopeful it would aid players in being more visible to receive opportunities at the state level.
FV has yet to confirm exact dates for the upcoming season, but competitions are expected to begin just after the Easter period.
The club has just finalised all of its teams for 2026, consisting of MiniRoos, under-12s, 14s, 16s, and senior men and women’s sides, with Danswan putting the number of total registrations at over 380.
As participation numbers continue to grow, the overarching aim for the club remains the same.
“Just trying to teach all the newer ones all the skills they need and just get bigger and better,” Danswan said.
“Increase our registrations and get our word out there that there's soccer outside of AFL, as we are very much an AFL/cricket town, and netball.”
Senior women’s co-coach and player Amelia Richardson. Photo by Matthew Kappos.
Attracting players is not a problem, but Danswan said that receiving support from volunteers had been a big issue.
The club is particularly in need of more helpers to assist in the MiniRoos, and is trying a new initiative this year to incentivise involvement.
“We’re using one of our major sponsors, Cadell, and Moama Bakery, through them, we're going to stock the canteen,” Danswan said.
“We’re just looking for a small group, could be mums, teenagers, dads, who might want to use the profits to go on a holiday at the end of the year or whatever they want to do.
“They’ll get the money at the end of the year, they just have to run it, and we'll make sure that they keep all the profits.
“I don’t think any other sports club has ever done that.”
Those interested in volunteering are encouraged to call Danswan on 0409 895 981.
Louise O'Callaghan celebrates a goal at last year’s Echuca-Moama Border Raiders Women’s Day.
Another unique offering the club has is its Women’s Day event, this year occurring on Saturday, May 30, while it will also have a trivia night at the Caledonian Hotel in August.
The Women’s Day has been a success in recent years as a promotion of women’s football in the region, with the development of the senior women’s program, and certainly the Matildas’ ongoing impact nationally, also contributing to increasing female football involvement at the Border Raiders.
Both the under-12 and under-14 girls are full for numbers this year, but Danswan sees more work being done.
“I guess a main goal is building the female side of the club,” he said.
“My sort of vision for the club would be having an under-16 girls, under-14 girls, and at least three under-12 girls teams would probably be the end game.”
