B Diploma Goalkeeper Course: Franken's drive to raise the bar

Football Australia National Head of Goalkeeping Tony Franken was at the Sam Kerr Football Centre recently to run a B Diploma Goalkeeper Course.

Franken, who is also the CommBank Matildas Goalkeeper Coach, said it was vital to get more coaches accredited to lift the standard of goalkeeping in WA and around the country.

“The B Goalkeeping Diploma is pretty much the first of the advanced courses if you want to be a goalkeeper coach working in the semi-professional environment,” he said.

“This is the first time we have conducted one of these courses in two to three years. We want to raise the bar in terms of what the minimum requirements are to work in NPL and State League as a goalkeeper coach, then I feel we’ll get more numbers here and get more accredited.”

Franken, a former Australia international who is from Perth, said more and more goalkeepers were seeing coaching as a future pathway.

He said: “If you’d asked me say 10 years ago about the strength of goalkeeping in the country, I’d have said it was limited. But now a lot of past goalkeepers, including some who have played for Australia, are going into coaching, which is really encouraging. We’re getting goalkeepers who want to put something back into the game.

“On the course here we have Tando Velaphi, who’s played for Australia at Olympic level and played 200-odd games in the A-League. They’re the type of people we want on the ground. So if you ask me in another five years, I think we’ll be in a really healthy state. But these courses are new. It’s about getting them out there and getting as many people accredited as we can.”

Australia has a history of providing goalkeepers to the top leagues around the world, such as Mark Schwarzer, Zeljko Kalac, Mark Bosnich and current No1 Mat Ryan. Franken says the system should not take too much credit for that.

“I think it was more through luck than design,” he said.

“A lot of your Schwarzers, your Birighittis, your Petkovices, a lot of these goalkeepers played a lot of basketball, rugby and AFL, so had a lot of hand-eye co-ordination and the cream came to the top. There weren’t necessarily a lot of goalkeeping coaches at the time. We’ve probably got better ones now.

“People say we’re not producing goalkeepers, but I tend to disagree. We have a number of quality 18–25-year-olds; they just need an opportunity, wherever that comes.”

Part of the answer might be a rule introduced by Football Australia as part of its Player Roster Principles for NPL Senior Men’s competitions from 2026. From next year, goalkeepers who are not classified as an Australian player will not be permitted on an NPL First Team Player Roster.

“We will have to see how it develops but we are going to produce a lot of younger goalkeepers and give them more match minutes,” Franken said.

One WA goalkeeper who has been on the radar of the national selectors is Morgan Aquino, who was called into the Matildas squad last year. In 2024, the former Football West NTC player left Perth Glory and moved to Washington DC to play for Power FC in the USL Super League.

“Morgan’s done really well, she probably hit her ceiling here in WA and I think she’s been really brave in leaving and going overseas where she’s playing at a higher level,” Franken said.

The B Diploma Goalkeeper Course was Franken’s first with Football West at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.

He said: “About two years ago, I conducted a Foundation of Goalkeeping Course at Gibbney Reserve and this is light years ahead. This is a proper football centre, and when you consider you have the likes of Cris Ola and Gareth Naven here for coach education, it is top shelf.”

WHAT IS THE GOALKEEPING B DIPLOMA?

This course focuses on integrating game-related training practices and applying technical knowledge in realistic scenarios.

Delivered over five days (40 contact hours) with an additional 20 hours of self-learning, the course follows a game-sense approach aligned with Football Australia's goalkeeper vision and UEFA standards. Coaches receive practical assessments, mentoring and support from experienced tutors throughout.

For coaches in goalkeeper pathways or semi-pro roles. Aged 18+ with a valid C Diploma and Foundation of Goalkeeping certificate held for at least six months.

For more on Football West’s advanced coaching courses, click here: footballwest.com.au/coach/advanced-courses