2020 Australian Coaching Conference registrations soar

Despite enduring a difficult season due to COVID-19, more than 1200 participants have registered for the 2020 Australian Coaching Conference.

Despite enduring a difficult season with setbacks due to COVID-19, more than 1200 participants have registered for the 2020 Australian Coaching Conference.

The unbelievable milestone has been achieved with the conference set to take place in a few weeks on Saturday 28 November.

Football NSW normally hold this event at their headquarters of Valentine Sports Park, but restrictions caused by the pandemic have led to it going online. It’s meant that more coaches have got on board, with those from across the country, Asia and even the UK, Brazil and the United States.

“Having made the decision to go online this year, we have collaborated and worked well with FFA, Football Coaches Australia and the other Member Federations to ensure that as many coaches as possible had access to some of the wonderful speakers and content that we are providing,” Peter Hugg, Football NSW’s Head of Football said.

“Having reached 1200 registrants already, our goal is now more than 1500 which will be a tremendous achievement.

“We have already announced legendary coach, Arsene Wenger, formerly of Arsenal and now with FIFA, and he will kick off the day, and last week, we announced that two iconic players of women’s football, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain – both of the champion US Women’s team of the nineties – and they will chat with former Matildas’ coach Tom Sermanni.

“Some more big names will be rolled out over the next few weeks leading into the day”.

With the conference going online, participants will have the ability to watch the event and then have access to it later for future reference.

“The technology platform that we have invested in for this year’s Conference is similar to that offered by many of today’s streaming services,” Chris Adams, Manager of Coach Development said.

“That is to say, that whilst the Conference is formally held on Saturday 28 November, and registrants will be able to participate and watch it on that day, those who can’t will have access to all the content after the event, and will be able to continually refer to it over the course of the summer and throughout next season ‘on-demand’.

“The same obviously applies with the four themes and the sessions that are held simultaneously. We have sessions on youth development, coaching the female player, football science, medicine and research and learnings from the international scene, grassroots football and some further content on futsal, and the coaching of special population groups.

“What has been particularly pleasing is that a number of clubs and associations have taken up our special offer and ‘bulk purchased’ our discounted club deal, essentially offering coaches within their organisation the opportunity to participate and benefit from the learnings and further their own development. Whilst our early bird offer has concluded, the club offer will remain until the event.”

“FFA have approved 30 CPD points for participation in the event for those seeking to maintain their FFA Accreditation, but regardless, I am confident that there will be something here for everyone”.

Registrations for the 2020 Australian Coaching Conference are still open and you can apply here.

Avatar
Liam Watson is the Co-Founder & Publisher of Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy, industry matters and technology.

The 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund to cater for participation boom

2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund

The Victorian Government’s 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund is a state-wide investment, open until December 13, 2023.

This fund was created to adapt to the increasing need for infrastructure that is required for regular active sport and recreation.

Utilising three streams, sports clubs, facility managers and community organisations will all benefit from the following grants:

  • Community Facilities – up to $300,000
  • Community Sports Lighting – up to $250,000
  • Planning – up to $40,000

Led by Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence, the creation of infrastructure will be made possible by planners, architects, engineers, project managers,
builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, facility managers and operational staff as part on the construction process. In turn, this has a direct link back to the local economy and offers hundreds of jobs.

For sporting & recreation clubs, sporting associations & leagues, educational institutions, not-for-profit community organisations, businesses and individuals looking to apply for the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, an important note is that they cannot do so directly. Instead, they will coordinate this with Local Government Authorities and the Alpine Resorts Victoria who will apply on their behalf.

Applications close at 5pm on Wednesday December 13 2023 – with successful candidates of the 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund announced from April 2024.

For full information and resources, you can view those here.

Football Queensland remain with Kappa for five more seasons until 2028

Football Queensland & Kappa partnership extension

Football Queensland have announced a five-year partnership extension with iconic international sports brand Kappa as its official apparel partner from 2024.

This relationship between the two parties has been very strong since they first partnered all the way back in 2017 and reinforces the support for football in Queensland that the brand has had.

Kappa has provided quality garments for some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Manchester City, Juventus, AC Milan and the Italian National team.

It’s a brand that was established in 1916 in Turin and eventually in 1978 they rebranded themselves to branch out as a sportwear brand where they focused purely on football-related products and designs.

For Football Queensland, they currently produce and provide quality on and off-field apparel for all Queensland State Representative teams including the state’s futsal representative squads. Kappa also provide on-field apparel for the game’s referees on the FQ website.

They also helped sponsor and start up the Kappa Women’s Super Cup and Kappa Pro Series tournaments that debuted in late 2021 and 2022 respectively for clubs to participate in across the state.

FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci was extremely pleased to announce this partnership extension following Kappa’s amazing support.

“Football Queensland is incredibly excited to announce Kappa as our official apparel partner for the next five years following a competitive tender process which saw us receive 20 expressions of interest and 15 submissions of an extremely high quality,” Cavallucci said via Football Queensland press release.

“In their seven years as a Football Queensland partner, Kappa has provided fantastic support to Football Queensland, our clubs and the wider football community thanks to their quality of apparel, ability to deliver on their promises and the team’s unwavering commitment to customer service.

“We’ve built a wonderful working relationship with the team at Kappa thanks to their willingness to go above and beyond to deliver outcomes for our organisation and our game, and we’re delighted to continue working in partnership with them from next year.”

Kappa Australia Director Ze’ev Bogaty shared the same sentiment for the great relationship the two parties have created.

“Kappa is a strong supporter of football in Queensland and has been proud to invest in the game since the partnership with Football Queensland began in 2017,” Bogaty mentioned in the FQ press release.

“Some highlights of the partnership have included the development of the teal shirt for first year referees, witnessing Queensland state sides dominate on the national stage in Kappa kit, and the launch of the Kappa Women’s Super Cup and Kappa Pro Series tournaments.

“As we embark on another five years as the state’s official apparel partner and continue our close working relationship with Football Queensland, we look forward to contributing even more to the growth and success of football across the state.”

There is a shared goal of improving the grassroots game in Queensland from both parties and the track record of Kappa’s immense investment over the past seven years has shown that this extension will do wonders for Queensland football.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend