QLD Government Joins Brisbane Roar and Football Queensland’s Community Program

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Image credit: Brisbane Roar

Brisbane Roar, Football Queensland (FQ), and the Queensland Government (QLD) have partnered to give more young people the chance to play football in the sunshine state.

Under the ‘Active! Queensland’ initiative, the QLD Government will provide a grant to Brisbane Roar’s not-for-profit organisation Roar Recreation and Welfare Limited, extending the Football Queensland and Roar Football in the Community Program.

The funding aims to empower more children to get involved in sport and increase the number of active footballers.

Over 10,000 junior participants are estimated to take part in a range of different activities in the program across 2025.

Brisbane Roar will be responsible for organising over 270 clinics through the scheme, these will include school holiday clinics, community and school programs, training and education, plus game day activities.

Minister for Sport, Tim Mander, outlined the importance of the partnership for Queenslander children.

“To have a healthy community, it is essential that we have an active community,” he said in a press release.

“The physical, social and psychological rewards of sport are enormous, and football plays an important role in seeing these benefits reach young Queenslanders.

“Which is why we are proud to partner with Brisbane Roar to help more local kids enjoy the game, and hopefully set them on a path to years of involvement in sport and active recreation.”

Brisbane Roar Chairman and CEO, Kaz Patafta, expressed his appreciation for the extensive partnership.

“From our ongoing consultation with the Queensland Government, we are beyond grateful to be receiving this support to grow our community programs in collaboration with Football Queensland,” he said via press release.

“With this new funding, Brisbane Roar together with Football Queensland is set to provide more opportunities for local Queensland kids to engage in football, aiming to expand the sport’s reach and impact across the region.

“We’re delighted to be able to provide more opportunities to local Queensland kids to play football as we endeavour to continue growing the game across Queensland.”

The partnership kicked off last Thursday at Suncorp stadium.

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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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