Lightwood Park unveils state-of-the-art football facility

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Image credit: Football Tasmania

Kingborough Lions United Football Club officially unveiled the newly completed Lightwood Park Pavilion and upgraded facilities on Wednesday, June 18, celebrating the end of a four-year redevelopment that has turned the site into Southern Tasmania’s leading football hub.

Completed in three stages from 2022 to 2025, the $6.53 million development has delivered a FIFA-compliant venue boasting eight changerooms, three referee rooms, medical and kit areas, a redeveloped main pitch with professional lighting, and an impressive 830-seat grandstand.

Lightwood Park’s transformation began more than ten years ago, when the Kingborough Lions United FC Committee of Management recognised the need for improved facilities to support the expanding football community, especially the rising number of female participants.

Club President Brian Downes, highlighted the importance of collaboration and community in bringing the project to life, noting the evolution from a simple need for improved changerooms to a world-class facility designed to benefit future generations.

“This facility represents the power of collaboration between all levels of government and our dedicated football community, what started as a need for better changerooms has evolved into a world-class facility that will serve our community for generations to come,” he said via press release.

Image credit: Kingborough Lions United Football Club

The initiative secured strong support across federal, state, and local government levels:

  • Following a 2022 election promise, the Federal Government invested $3.03 million.
  • State Government funding of $3.3 million includes $300,000 from the 2018 ‘Levelling the Playing Field’ Grant and $3 million pledged in 2021 as part of Tasmania’s commitment to the FIFA Women’s World Cup legacy.
  • Kingborough Council contributed $246,000 through several rounds of funding.

The fully developed Lightwood Park Pavilion showcases:

  • Eight FIFA-compliant changerooms that can be combined into four spacious units
  • Three exclusive rooms for referees
  • Medical room and equipment storage areas
  • Publicly accessible universal access restroom
  • Fully rebuilt main pitch (Clennett’s Lightwood Park) featuring upgraded drainage and irrigation systems
  • Advanced professional lighting with a 500 lux output
  • Striking grandstand with seating for 830 spectators

Federal Member for Franklin, The Hon Julie Collins MP, expressed her pride in fulfilling a key 2022 election promise to the Kingborough community with the delivery of this important project.

“I am proud to see this important election commitment I secured for the Kingborough community back in 2022 now delivered,” she said via press release.

“This project is all about delivering a world class facility for southern Tasmania and providing more opportunities for grassroot players, including new female players. These upgrades have been driven by the community and are thanks to the volunteers and members who are part of the Kingborough Lions United FC.

“I will always fight to ensure Franklin, including the Kingborough community, gets its fair share.”

The upgraded Lightwood Park facility provides the community with a world-class venue that supports the growth and development of football at all levels. It creates an inclusive space that encourages greater participation, especially for women and youth, strengthening the local sporting culture and fostering community pride.

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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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