Sharon Finnan-White has a long-term vision for empowering young Indigenous athletes, both in sport and life.

The former Australian Diamond netball star has worked to get more First Nations girls and young women to the top of the sport, recently coaching an all-Indigenous team in Townsville's premier competition with an aim of seeing it replicated in the national competition.

Finnan-White is now shifting her focus into a holistic venture in elite training, education and cultural and economic opportunity - with full scholarships in the plan.

Applications opened on September 1 for athletes aged 15-25 to join her First Nations Academy of Excellence.

It's a "passion" and part of her "vision" with an early focus on netball with any range of sports coming into things in the future, including for males.

"I have always wanted to start my own academy, I guess it's been a long term vision of mine, because I've had this vision of just wanting to give back and be able to provide opportunities for our young, Indigenous women to just be able to experience all the things I did," Finnan-White told National Indigenous Times.

"I've been doing in the past with various other organisations and developing young Indigenous netball players. This won't just be an academy of netball, it'll be an academy of sport, education and employment."

She sees Townsville as the hub with hope for national expansion going forward, incorporating local training providers for employment and educational opportunities for what comes with being an elite athlete.

It's not an effort to "reinvent the wheel", opening pathways at sports often overlooked.

"I'm hoping if I get the funding that I need, that I'll be able to offer, you know, full scholarships to remote kids to be able to relocate to Townsville, and come to boarding school and have everything covered for whatever they need to be here," she said.

"There's also leadership opportunities. I really want to take our young women back to community to be the role model, to deliver skills clinics to the younger generation…skill them up to be able to plan and deliver netball skill sessions and take on that leadership role, and at the same time be able to pay them for their time.

"I'd like to be able to employ some of our participants, you know, in down the line to be able to work for the Academy."

Finnan-White said growing the academy to a point where she is more or less "obsolete" within five to ten years is the dream.

She's putting up the money for academy, with support from non-for-profit registered charity and mutli-space organisation Blackroo Community Indigenous Corporation.

Finnan-White hopes for greater funding for sustainable success, a merit she sees as well worth fronting the funds.

"I've been fighting for this for so long. I've given so much to netball as an Australian Diamond and as an Indigenous leader, giving back to our people and I have never had the support, any investment from our national body or our state body here in Queensland, and it's really disappointing.

"I need a big investment to make this successful. And people who believe in what I'm doing, I know will want to invest in what I'm doing for our young people.

"It's for our young women, and our young women, quite often get overlooked, A, because they're women and B, because they're Indigenous.

Applications, with a questionnaire and nomination form are open until September 17.

"I'll be treating them like Suncorp super netball players, because I want them to experience what it's like. The good, the bad, and the ugly.