Northern NSW Football announces Flood Recovery Package

Staff Writer

Northern NSW Football has announced its Flood Recovery Package to assist clubs affected by the devastating floods in the region.

The NNSWF Flood Recovery Package, worth more than $130,000 in value, will help clubs replace essential equipment and support families facing financial hardship to meet the costs associated with junior registration fees.

The far northeast of NSW experienced its worst ever flooding in late February. 12 clubs affiliated with Football Far North Coast and North Coast Football were affected by flooding.

Damage ranged from the loss of equipment to total devastation. The damage bill was estimated at $700,000.

NNSWF set up its Flood Recovery Package in response. The package includes:

  • Upfront club grants worth $65,000
  • Replacement equipment valued at $20,000
  • 1400 footballs generously donated by Mitre worth $28,000
  • A specific grant to help clubs absorb governing body fees for families of junior players who face financial hardship worth $18,400

NNSWF’s major partner of community football Newcastle Permanent have also donated 25 sets of aluminium MiniRoos goals as well as pitch markers.

NNSWF CEO David Eland knows the impact of the floods on local football clubs had been significant.

“The scope of the flood recovery package reflects our commitment as the member federation to ease the burden on volunteers and help clubs get back on the pitch as soon as possible,” Eland said.

“In addition to damage and loss, clubs are also faced with the loss of sponsorship from local businesses affected by the floods.”

The Flood Recovery Package also includes a fundraising portal through the Australian Sports Foundation which enables businesses and individuals to make tax free donations.

NNSWF continues to advocate with all levels of government to ensure clubs have access to disaster relief funding.

NNSWF is also committed to helping families facing financial hardship by providing clubs with a specific grant to absorb the governing body fees for players under the age of 18.

“Sport has a unique ability to bring communities together. Its resumption will be a clear signal that the community is on the mend,” Eland said.

“We are committed to helping clubs so kids don’t miss out on playing this season if their families can’t afford registration fees.”

The generosity of the broader football community has been demonstrated through a boot drive at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility at Speers Point.

Used boots are being collected at the home of football for delivery to players and clubs in need.

“By the time the season starts I expect hundreds of pairs of boots to be donated to families who lost everything in the recent floods,” Eland said.

“We thank the football community for their generosity.”

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

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Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

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