Video Assistant Referee Training Portal launched by OZ Sports

Liam Watson
OZ Sports have created an Online Training Portal designed to revolutionise the adoption of VAR, despite being in the Covid-19 crisis.

The Portal will serve as a valuable resource for referees and addresses the complexities and costs of existing VAR approaches, as leagues continue to become accustomed with it. OZ Sports are aiming to deliver high-quality referee training and match readiness of existing referees – even though we aren’t in normal circumstances.

The OZ VAR solution has recently been one of the first in the world to be inspected under FIFA’s Quality Programme for VAR Technology. This aims to verify the quality of VAR technologies in areas such as synchronicity, latency and video quality to ensure the highest standards are met.

“By transforming the key challenge of referee training, we are able to simplify the adoption of VAR by leagues around the world,” CEO of OZ Sports, Gudjon Gudjonsson said.

“With our VAR Online Training Portal, referees can train anytime, even from their homes, in a rich interactive environment, making the process simple, efficient and effective, even under the current lockdown.”

The incorporation of OZ’s VAR Online Training Portal does bring new opportunities for off-field practical training to VARs via remote digital training. It reduces the substantial one-off costs and difficulties of certifying VAR officials at specific training areas through resourcing, staffing and time constraints.

The VAR Online Training Portal sits alongside the OZ VAR solution offering which revolutionises the economics of VAR implementation, as VAR has mainly just been used within the top leagues. The OZ Sports VAR solution is a pay-as-you-go service, removing the barriers to adoption at all levels of football by harnessing technology and changing the economics of implementation by reducing costs and requirement of capital outlay.

“The football world has taken crucial steps to modernise its league infrastructures,” Gudjonsson said.

“VAR started as something only for the big leagues, but with the VAR module of the OZ Connected Stadium, a high-quality solution is now a reality for all leagues.

“By harnessing the latest technology including AI and modern network infrastructures, we can remove the need for complex and overly expensive solutions.

“The OZ Connected Stadium is a fundamental change to the way the sector approaches sports infrastructure.”

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Football SA Extends Sammy D Foundation Partnership Into Third Year for Violence Prevention Round

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Football South Australia will run its fifth consecutive Violence Prevention Round in partnership with the Sammy D Foundation from 3 to 5 July, with junior teams again asked to wear blue armbands throughout the weekend.

The arrangement was formalised in March 2022, when Football SA and the Foundation signed a three-year agreement, funded by SA Power Networks, to deliver the Foundation’s Monkey See, Monkey Do program to more than 7,500 junior members across 52 clubs.The program is a 90-minute session delivered by Sammy D Foundation facilitators focused on changing players’ attitudes toward bullying and violence and educating parents and club members about the impacts of inappropriate sideline behaviours, built around the story of Sam Davis, the 17-year-old South Adelaide junior footballer whose death in a one-punch assault in 2008 led his parents to establish the Foundation.Football SA general manager George Georganas and Foundation chief executive Brigid Koenig confirmed the partnership at its 2022 launch, framing it as a mechanism for improving club culture from junior sidelines upward.

The round has run every season since, expanding in 2023 to incorporate the Federation Cup Final at ServiceFM Stadium,a weekend Football SA dedicated as the Sammy D Violence Prevention Round alongside the Federation Cup Final Day continuing through the 2024 season,when it was again scheduled as a designated round ahead of that year’s Federation Cup Final and shifting from an early blue tape design to the blue armbands used in 2025 and again this year.

A prevention model funded outside government

The Foundation’s programs, including its work with Football SA, are financed through corporate and philanthropic support rather than recurring government funding. Its rollout with Football SA was backed by SA Power Networks, and separate school-based programs in the state’s Far North have relied on grants from philanthropic trusts.Both the Perpetual Foundation’s Kevin Barnes Gift Fund Endowment and the Fred P Archer Charitable Trust have funded the Foundation’s work in that region.

The State Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, released in December 2025, commits $674 million over ten years to a 136-recommendation reportstructured around themes spanning structural reform, workforce and community education, crisis response, and establishing a foundation for prevention, delivered by Commissioner Natasha Stott Despojaafter four women were killed in the state within a single week in November 2023. The Commission’s focus on domestic, family and sexual violence is distinct from the youth bullying and alcohol-related violence at the centre of Sammy D Foundation programs, but its response includesan expansion of abuse prevention programs to support behavioural change for people who use violence, alongside prevention and awareness activities aimed specifically at young people.

Separately, the Department for Education’s own violence prevention program, developed after a 2022 ministerial roundtable, has directed a $6 million Safe and Supportive Learning Environments Plan of Action toward schools, afterreported violent incidents in South Australian public schools rose 50 per cent in 2023, with more than 13,000 critical incidents recorded that year. The department has since reportedits first decline in secondary school critical incidents in 2024, a 4.5 per cent reduction from 2019 levels, along with a 7.3 per cent fall in suspensions and a 20.8 per cent fall in exclusions in 2025. It also noted thatviolence in primary schools has continued to rise since the pandemic, and that physical violence against teaching staff, the large majority involving primary-aged students, climbed from 273 incidents in 2021 to 662 in 2024.

Evidence from earlier rollouts

Sammy D Foundation programs delivered through junior sport have previously reported strong self-assessed outcomes. An earlier three-year rollout of a related program through SANFL Juniors, a separate competition to Football SA,reached up to 12,800 young players and their families, with 98 per cent reporting increased awareness of the impact of one-punch violence and 89 per cent reporting they avoided a violent situation because of the program.

A national evidence guide on preventing violence through sport, compiled by Our Watch, notes that69 per cent of Australian children and 87 per cent of adults took part in sport or physical activity over a twelve-month period, while also pointing toa lack of research assessing the effectiveness of such approaches, and the need for more robust evaluation of primary prevention programs within sport settings.

Clubs taking part in this year’s round have again been supplied with blue armbands for junior teams, with Football SA and the Foundation asking clubs to share images from the weekend under the round’s official hashtag.

Juan Mata Commits to Melbourne Victory’s Future with Ownership Stake

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Melbourne Victory has announced that Spanish football icon Juan Mata has joined the club’s ownership group, marking one of the most significant investment moves by a current international footballer in Australian football history.

The agreement sees Mata acquire an ownership stake in Victory while continuing to weigh up whether he will extend his playing career beyond the 2025/26 A-League Men’s season. The investment is separate from any future playing contract and reflects a long-term commitment to both the club and the wider Australian football landscape.

Should Mata eventually retire from professional football, he will also take on a leadership role by chairing a newly established football committee at Melbourne Victory, helping shape the club’s football operations and strategic direction.

More than another football investment

While former elite players have increasingly entered football ownership around the world, Mata’s decision stands apart because he is investing directly into the club he currently represents.

The move places Melbourne Victory among a growing list of clubs benefiting from investment by globally recognised football figures. However, unlike celebrity ownership groups where players often become passive investors after retirement, Mata is embedding himself within the club while still competing at the highest domestic level.

Commercial terms of the transaction remain confidential, although the investment has been described as a significant long-term minority stake designed to strengthen the partnership between Mata and the club well beyond his playing career.

A vote of confidence in Australian football

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the announcement is what it says about the perception of Australian football internationally.

After arriving in Australia following spells with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Valencia, few would have predicted that Mata would choose to invest his own capital into an A-League club.

Instead, the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner has described Australian football as a competition with genuine long-term potential.

“Australian football has a future I genuinely believe in,” Mata said.

“From the moment I arrived at Melbourne Victory, I’ve felt the passion of this club and the potential of the A-Leagues, and I want to be part of building what comes next—not just for a season, but for the long term.”

Mata added that becoming a shareholder represented “the natural next step” after enjoying his first season at Victory.

Rewarding an outstanding first season

The investment follows what has been one of the finest individual campaigns by a marquee player in recent A-League history.

The 38-year-old registered five goals and 13 assists across 25 appearances during the 2025/26 season, earning the Johnny Warren Medal as the league’s best player while also claiming Melbourne Victory’s Player of the Year honours. His performances helped guide Victory back into the Finals Series and demonstrated that his influence extends far beyond his reputation.

Rather than treating Australia as a final destination before retirement, Mata has instead become increasingly involved in shaping the game’s future.

A growing portfolio of sporting investments

Melbourne Victory is not Mata’s first venture into sports ownership.

The Spaniard already holds ownership interests in Major League Soccer expansion club San Diego FC and Formula One outfit Alpine Racing. He has also invested in Mercury/13, the multi-club ownership group focused on developing women’s football globally.

These investments reflect a broader trend among modern footballers who are leveraging their experience and networks beyond their playing careers. For Melbourne Victory, securing someone with Mata’s global football knowledge, commercial experience and international connections represents an opportunity that extends well beyond the pitch.

Landmark moment for Melbourne Victory

Victory Chairman John Dovaston described Mata’s investment as a significant endorsement of both the club and the A-Leagues.

According to Dovaston, Mata is a discerning investor with stakes in elite sporting organisations worldwide, making his decision to back Melbourne Victory a strong signal of confidence in the club’s direction and the league’s future.

Managing Director Caroline Carnegie echoed those sentiments, describing the announcement as “genuinely groundbreaking” and highlighting Mata’s combination of world-class football intelligence, investor mindset and long-term commitment.

A statement beyond Melbourne

Australian football has long sought greater international credibility. Not only through marquee signings, but through meaningful long-term investment.

Mata’s decision represents something arguably more valuable than a headline player signing. By committing financially to Melbourne Victory, he is effectively betting on the future growth of both the club and the A-Leagues.

At a time when Australian football continues to pursue increased investment, stronger governance and greater global relevance, having one of the game’s most respected figures choose to become an owner may ultimately prove to be one of the competition’s most powerful endorsements.

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