Football West and Healthway spark mental health importance with Kick Off the Conversation program

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Kick Off the Conversation program
Image credit: Football West

Football West have launched the Kick Off the Conversation mental health program with Healthway, ahead of the 2024 rollout.

Kick Off the Conversation focuses on raising awareness of improved mental health practices within clubs. This is done by developing tailored resources and taking part in workshops run by local mental health providers.Im

It also educates the football community about Healthway’s Think Mental Health campaign and importantly as part of the program, participating clubs will be eligible to win a share of $15,000 in cash prizes.

Football West and Healthway renewed their partnership for a third year in 2023 and will continue to create club environments that promote positive mental health and wellbeing.

The local football clubs with this program will gain a better understanding of the role they play in supporting and educating all their members on the importance of mental health.

This will help when their members face complex issues and problems with the club hopefully becoming a safe outlet for anyone struggling.

Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell outlined that the program plans to help improve mental health within the sport in the local community.

“The Kick Off the Conversation program will make a positive impact on the lives of many people involved in our sport and will help create a legacy of support and understanding. Harnwell mentioned in a Football West press release.

“Football West is committed to working with Healthway to continue to create supportive club environments that prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of footballers, coaches, officials, and supporters.”

Lotterywest and Healthway CEO Ralph Addis added how the program was going to be rolled out to the local clubs.

“Through the launch of the new program we can directly engage with clubs on prioritising their mental health and wellbeing, and provide them access to relevant support, education, and training,” Addis stated via press release.

There is no denying the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the football space, and educating coaches on how to handle different situations with their players will educate everyone involves and build a solid foundation of learning for the future.

For more information and to download the program e-book, visit the link here: https://www.footballwest.com.au/kick-conversation

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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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