Football NSW and CORE Community Services deliver successful ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program

Staff Writer

The recently established ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program, organised by Football NSW together with CORE Community Services has become quite the success story.

A statement from the Football New South Wales can be found here:

Fifty-one kids including 13 girls of newly arrived Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian families from the South Western Sydney communities registered to participate in a modified ALDI MiniRoos Kick-Off Program.

Its purpose to provide children between the ages of 4 and 11 who have experienced adversity in their lifetime with the opportunity to learn and play football.

The introductory program based at Ultimate Soccer in Fairfield embraces football as a way to endure the social challenges they face in the community.

It helps kids stay active, make friends and learn English on the go, while coaches teach them the fundamentals of football so they too can fall in love with the game.

Through the ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program, the kids received a bag and ball bearing the Western Sydney Wanderers’ logo, shin pads, a water bottle and stickers in their participant packs; while the coaches were also provided with a delivery kit, inclusive of pop-up goals, cones, bibs, etc.

It’s a gesture of goodwill to encourage them to continue with their active lifestyles outside the program and practising football, while giving the kids some added responsibility, to bring the ball to each session.

Hind, a mother of 3 boys involved in the program was delighted to be offered an avenue to football for her kids.

“The program is great because it brings everyone together and there is a real sense of community.”

Football NSW’s Game Development Officer – MiniRoos, Kevin Guardado Amaya​, accompanied by Fouad David, a Fairfield Bulls Coach and daughter Mariam, delivered the recent program with the help of other Football NSW Community Coaches.

Before arriving in Australia from Syria in July 2016, Fouad coached at a high level with Al-Khabur SC and played as a goalkeeper but ultimately his passion was to become a goalkeeper coach.

While, Mariam is an active participant in Fairfield High School’s Football 4 Development and Football NSW’s Community FC programs.

This year she joined Bossley Park Football Club after connecting with Catherine Cannuli, the Women’s Technical Director at SDSFA (Southern Districts Soccer Football Association).

Mariam’s dream is to one day become a professional football and play for her beloved Matildas but knows the difficult road ahead and the dedication it takes.

CORE Community Services’, Aylin Yokhana is the lead case worker for the ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program and initially started the football program with the help of the Telskuf Association and Fouad and Mariam.

Football NSW through the connections with various migrant resource centres then contacted CORE Community Services and eventually combined to provide additional resources in coaching, equipment, field hire and football packs for the kids with all the essentials.

 

MiniRoos Coaching Certificate

After the success of the first ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program, CORE Community Services again linked up with Football NSW to organise a coach education night for adults on Thursday 1st August.

The event was held at Fairfield Hotspurs’ home ground at Prospect View Park and assisted by CORE representatives and the Telsfuk Association for the purpose of translating.

Football NSW’s Kevin Guardado Amaya delivered the program, where coaching experienced varied from never having coached before to an Olympic Football Team coach.

Once certified, participants will hopefully take up coaching at their local clubs next season.

For more information on ALDI MiniRoos Football visit miniroos.com.au

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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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