First Nations football groups have called for more investment as part of efforts to capitalise on the Women’s World Cup, citing a lack of focus on Indigenous programs in the tournament’s Legacy 23 strategy.

Dr Karen Menzies, co-chair of football’s national Indigenous advisory group (NIAG), said the group’s work should be prioritised by Football Australia, while a separate organisation, Indigenous Football Australia (IFA), has written to Fifa complaining of the “egregious omission” of First Nations communities from its Legacy 23 plan.

Signatories of the letter include former Matilda and players’ union co-chair Kate Gill, former Socceroo Craig Foster, AFL legend Adam Goodes, Sydney FC goalkeeper Jada Whyman, and the first Indigenous person to represent a national football team, John Moriarty.

“The Indigenous Football Australia Council urges you to immediately commit financial support from Legacy 2023 into the future of John Moriarty Football and other, Indigenous-led initiatives such as the Indigenous Roos and Koalas, the community-led National Teams of First Nations Australia and South Australian Indigenous Football,” said the letter, which was also sent to Football Australia (FA) and the federal sport minister, Anika Wells.

However, FA has argued the claim that there has been a lack of funding for Indigenous football programs within Legacy 23 is “not accurate”.

“We want to make it clear that the support and advancement of Indigenous football programs are integral parts of our commitment,” an FA spokesperson said.

Indigenous cultures have been prominent during the 2023 tournament. First Nations placenames have been included in marketing collateral, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are displayed inside Australian stadiums. A First Nations and Māori advisory panel has been established for the event, and it’s an issue of great important for the Matildas, who have two players with First Nations’ backgrounds in the squad: goalkeeper Lydia Williams and forward Kyah Simon.

But Menzies said there had to be an enduring commitment to the needs of First Nations people within football. She called on FA to prioritise the work of NIAG, and claimed the two-year-old body had not been given adequate resources.

The nine-person NIAG was established in 2021 by FA as an independent group. Menzies believes the sport is generally moving in the right direction when it comes to its record on First Nations issues.

“We’re certainly contributing to things like the reconciliation action plan that they have, so we provide cultural inclusion and cultural commentary around those things,” the former Matildas player said. “But there’s more that we need to be doing.”

FA’s much-heralded Legacy 23 plan has “unlocked” more than $350m in infrastructure funding, according to an update released just prior to the World Cup. That is in addition to work in the areas of participation, leadership, tourism and high-performance. But some within the game – including Menzies – have been disappointed there was not more funding for First Nations people and programs.

A spokesperson for FA pointed to the Naidoc Cup in New South Wales, which brought together 120 young First Nations players, coaches and referees, and will return next year as part of the state government’s $10m football legacy program. The investment also includes a scholarship program for female leaders in football, with a goal of 5% of recipients having First Nations backgrounds.

The first in-person meeting between NIAG and the FA board was held only two weeks ago and included a cultural capability education session with an external facilitator. Menzies said it helped in “lubricating our conversations” and “consolidating us as an advisory group”.

Once the excitement about the tournament subsided, the real work began, Menzies said. NIAG and FA will meet again in September, as the group continues to advocate for more Indigenous staff inside the governing body, and ultimately board representation. With the focus of Australians now very much on football, she’s optimistic: “We think it’s perfect timing.”

John Moriarty Football (JMF) delivers a skills program to 2,000 Indigenous children in regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory, Queensland and NSW. Co-founder and IFA member Ros Moriarty said the organisation provided “about half” of the 15 coaches to the Naidoc Cup.

The 12-year-old organisation relies on government funding, philanthropy and support from players’ union Professional Football Australia, but after being overlooked in Legacy 23 and struggling to win financial support from FA it has launched an online fundraiser.

“John [Moriarty] always felt that there wasn’t a commitment from the game to Indigenous football, and there was such a vacuum of talent coming through compared to AFL and rugby league in particular,” she said.

The Moriarty Foundation, which oversees JMF, received about three-quarters of its $3.1m 2021-22 revenue from the commonwealth government, with corporate grants and donations making up the bulk of the remainder. Its highest-profile success has been former scholarship holder Shay Evans, who was a Young Matilda and plays in the A-League Women.

“We have some good relationships, we just don’t have a connection at the Football Australia-level,” Moriarty said.

JMF may not be part of the World Cup legacy investment so far, but FA has indicated it is still trying to leverage the occasion to drum up funds. Ahead of the tournament, FA’s chief executive, James Johnson, acknowledged the work wasn’t over.

“Legacy doesn’t start before the Women’s World Cup and shouldn’t stop straight after the Women’s World Cup,” he said. “We’re wanting to continue to work with governments and our commercial partners to continue to invest in Legacy 23.”