The Football Field is one of the deepest and least-dived reef sites in King George Sound. It lies about a kilometre east of Michaelmas Island, where the sea floor falls away through a landscape of canyons and huge bommies from about 16 m on the top to levels of 60-66 m on the southern side. Marine Life Network's site list describes the bommies as covered in masses of sponge growth, huge gorgonians and black coral, with fish that are large and numerous – a sign of how rarely it is visited.

The name suggests a flat, open expanse on top, which gives way to vertical relief as the reef drops toward the south. On the deeper parts the sponges and fans become larger and more intact than on the popular sites, and big blue groper, queen snapper, samson fish and kingfish patrol the canyon edges. The sheer scale of the bommies and the colour of the sponge life at depth are the attraction.

The site is explicitly for experienced air divers and technical divers. Recreational divers can make a worthwhile dive on the top and upper canyons within 30 m, but the deeper terrain requires decompression planning, appropriate gas and a boat team ready to track divers in current. There is no mooring, no shelter from easterlies and no quick shore exit. For suitably qualified divers it offers something rarely found in a sound otherwise known for sheltered, moderate-depth dives: a deep, pristine temperate reef within 20 minutes of a boat ramp.

Albany is 418 km (about 4.5 hours) south-east of Perth via Albany Highway. Charter boats and private boats launch either from the Emu Point boat ramp (Emu Point Drive, 7 km north-east of the CBD, with a large trailer car park, toilets and a fish-cleaning station) or from the town ramp beside the Albany Waterfront marina in Princess Royal Harbour, which exits into King George Sound through the harbour entrance past Possession Point. The Football Field is about 1 km east of Michaelmas Island, roughly 8 km (20 minutes) from Emu Point.

It is an open-water site found by GPS and sounder; there is no mooring and it is not suitable for anchoring in heavy weather. Dive it from a charter or private boat with a surface tender able to follow bubbles because currents are unpredictable.

Located in open water at the mouth of King George Sound between Michaelmas and Breaksea Islands, the Football Field is exposed to easterly winds and to swell wrapping around Breaksea from the south-east. It needs light winds, swell under about 1.5 m and ideally a slack or weak tide; Marine Life Network warns of unpredictable current. Autumn mornings are the most reliable window.

Descend a shotline to the top of the reef at 16-20 m and plan the depth according to certification: recreational divers explore the bommie tops and upper canyons to 30 m; technical divers descend the southern side toward 60 m on appropriate gas with a planned decompression ascent on the shot or a drifting decompression line. Deploy a DSMB early if current is running.

Beyond 40 m use trimix/helitrox and staged decompression; carry DSMBs and plan drifting deco given unpredictable current. Suitable for CCR. Emergency evacuation to Fiona Stanley requires RFDS aeromedical transfer.

No regular scheduled trips; South Coast Diving Supplies can visit on request for experienced groups; mostly dived by local technical divers on private boats.