Preston Lions FC: A sleeping giant is awoken with new $3 million grant

With one of Australia’s most passionate fanbases and a history of on-field success, it seems inconceivable that less than a decade ago the Preston Lions FC was on the brink of financial collapse. But despite its recent struggles, a resilient leadership team has led the club out of darkness and towards a bright new dawn.

Following a triumphant 2019 season which ended in promotion, the crowning jewel in Preston’s redemptive arc is the announcement of a new $3 million government grant to redevelop its facilities – meaning the club will finally have the infrastructure to match its lofty ambitions.

“The club recognised that we operate in a competitive environment and we needed to significantly improve the state of our facilities if we were going to attract and retain players, coaches, sponsors, members, and families,” said Zak Gruevski, Preston Lions FC President.

“Furthermore, we need to continue to improve our facilities if we are to meet our ambitious plans of playing at the highest level of NPL in Victoria, and possibly in the National Second Division.”

The funding marks a dramatic turnaround for the club. Struggles on-the-pitch saw Preston relegated twice, in 2009 and 2011, and things were no better off-field, with crippling debt almost forcing the Lions into bankruptcy in 2012.

But just a few short years later fortunes had changed again, and this time for the better. Thanks to the dedication of the Debt Demolition Fundraising Sub Committee, fundraising efforts managed to eradicate the debt in 2014, giving the club a new platform of hope and financial stability.

Gruevski, a life-long supporter of the Lions, was elected President in 2015 and has already overseen drastic improvements to the club’s stature and home ground, B.T. Connor Reserve in Melbourne’s north.

“At the time I was elected, our objective was to build a strong and united team of professional and passionate people to create a sustainable future for the club,” Gruevski said.

The club’s main grandstand at B.T. Connor Reserve

“Prior to 2015, the club’s facilities were extremely run down and not fit for purpose but thanks to the dedication of our passionate people including the committee, supporters, and sponsors, the club has been able to emerge from a difficult period to deliver significant improvements.”

Although recent investments have already enhanced the state of Preston’s stadia, the new redevelopments will take the facilities to an entirely new level.

Work is expected to commence in early 2021 and be completed towards the end of the year. Among a raft of improvements, the Lions’ new pavilion will include the following features:

  • A purpose built social area with state-of-the-art kitchen and bar facilities to accommodate up to 220 seated guests
  • Full access viewings onto the main playing pitch with floor to ceiling glass doors and windows
  • External undercover seating for up to 200 patrons
  • Six purpose-built change rooms, with associated medical facilities to accommodate players, medical staff, and officials
  • Media/meeting room facilities with access to high-quality audio-visual amenities including a 6 x 3 metre electronic scoreboard (funded by club sponsors), audio visual (AV) projection facilities, as well as AV throughout the ground
  • Canteen and restroom facilities for patrons (including those with disabilities) accessible external and internal to the pavilion

According to Gruevski, the facilities will create enormous benefits for those at the club, but also people in the wider local community.

“The new pavilion will provide state of the art facilities where the entire Preston family and other visitors can enjoy café, restaurant, and bar facilities in a fully enclosed environment whilst still being able to watch unobstructed. The facility will prove particularly popular for parents and visitors during the week on training nights, particularly in Winter.” Gruevski said.

“In addition, it will provide the club significant revenue opportunities before and after games to accommodate patrons as well as the potential for use on weekends for functions and events.”

The announcement comes during a time where debate has raged around the state of Australia’s footballing infrastructure. A victim of chronic underinvestment, the issue has drawn commentary from some of the game’s leading figures and has been exacerbated by a strong rise in participation rates, causing a strain on grassroots facilities nationwide.

But despite the negative sentiment surrounding Australia’s football amenities, the path forward will be paved by cooperation and goodwill between clubs, administrators, and government, and the Lions have set a positive example in how this can be achieved.

“The club has adopted a partnership model working closely with the City of Darebin to develop a football precinct that the club and the community can be proud of and enjoy for many years to come,” Gruevski stated.

“Whilst the club has contributed to a number of the infrastructure projects at B.T. Connor Reserve, the majority of the funding has come from council. The club has provided the ‘justification’ to council for investment in facilities which had previously been neglected for many years.”

A digital render of the refurbished pavilion.

Prior to the season’s cancellation due to COVID-19, Preston was preparing to compete in Victoria’s NPL 3 in 2020.  It was set to be the club’s first venture back into the NPL system since suffering relegations in 2009 and 2011.

The recent promotion back to the NPL and upcoming redevelopment signal an exciting new era for the Preston Lions FC. The club’s approximate 350 players – and much wider community – have good reason to rejoice, for the facilities-upgrade represents far more than just tangible benefits it will provide.

The state-of-the-art complex signifies that the proud club, which once competed for 13 years at Australia’s top level (the now defunct National Soccer League), is once again a force-to-be-reckoned-with in Australia’s highly competitive domestic sports landscape.

“With significant improvements in facilities and the implementation of quality football programs for our men’s, women’s and junior teams, we aim to attract and retain quality footballers and their families who want to be part of the next phase of the club’s journey to competing at the highest level of competition possible,” Gruevski said.

“The sleeping giant that has awoken is now in a strong position to leverage its wonderful history to create a bright and successful future.”

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Football NSW builds life‑saving network as cardiac safety push expands

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has distributed 20 defibrillators to associations and regional clubs through its Every Beat Matters campaign, part of a broader push to improve cardiac emergency preparedness across the state’s football network.

Sixteen of the devices were presented to participating associations at the inaugural Football NSW Association Championships in Mudgee. A further four went to regional clubs: Cowra and District Soccer Club, Westside Panthers, Yerrinbool Bargo Soccer Club and Narooma Football Club.

The rollout builds on the Heartbeat of Sport AED Mapping Project, which is mapping defibrillator placement at sporting facilities across NSW with funding from the Minns Labor Government. Twelve football associations have joined the effort, including Eastern Suburbs, Manly Warringah, Granville, Southern Districts, Nepean, Northern Suburbs, Football Canterbury, Bankstown, Hills, Sutherland Shire, North West Sydney Football and Football South Coast.

Data collected through the mapping project is being fed into NSW Ambulance’s GoodSAM emergency response system and NSW Health’s public AED map, enabling first responders to locate nearby defibrillators in real time.

The initiative responds to a gap that had gone largely unexamined. More than 2,400 defibrillators have been deployed across NSW sports facilities through the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program, which offers grants of up to $3,000 to eligible organisations. But a device not registered in emergency response systems provides significantly less value than one that is accurately mapped and immediately locatable.

The urgency is not abstract. At Doyalson Wyee Football Club, a 70‑year‑old player survived a sudden on‑field cardiac arrest because an AED was available on site. Survival rates drop by about 10 per cent for every minute without defibrillation.

Football NSW is also establishing a long‑term defibrillator register to track equipment distribution, access and maintenance across all 636 clubs and 31 associations. The Every Beat Matters campaign, supported by Toyota and St John Ambulance, aims to raise about $240,000 through a raffle to fund an initial rollout of 65 defibrillators to clubs currently without access, prioritising regional and lower socio‑economic areas.

The #HeartHealthMatters Program is delivering CPR and AED familiarisation training to sporting organisations, with a particular focus on regional communities where ambulance response times are often longer and volunteer bases smaller.

The ambition, in the words of project organisers, is straightforward: that no preventable death occurs on a football ground because the right equipment was not there, or could not be found.

Northern NSW Football Launches Female Referee Mentor Program to Strengthen Officiating Pathway

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Image Credit: Football NNSW

Northern NSW Football has launched a Female Referee Mentor Program, backed by NSW Office of Sport funding, as the federation moves to address one of the game’s most persistent development gaps: retaining and advancing women in officiating.

The program pairs emerging referees with experienced female officials and coaches, and has already been introduced in match conditions during the 2026 Northern NSW Women’s State Cup under the oversight of NNSWF high-performance referee coach and FIFA referee Casey Reibelt.

Northern NSW says the initiative is designed to improve progression into representative appointments and leadership roles while building the support networks often cited as critical to referee retention.

Tournament rollout offers first test of model

NNSWF said 25 female referees officiated during the Women’s State Cup as part of the program’s initial phase.

The federation also released a number of key appointments linked to the rollout. Sophie Whale and Jamie Mills-Cove were appointed assistant referees for the Community Plate final. Lilli Skaines and Kaitlyn Digby were appointed to the under-13 and under-15 Premier Youth League Girls Cup finals, with Indi Charlesworth named assistant referee for both fixtures.

Reibelt said the initiative was intended to support younger and less-experienced referees in a practical environment and to reduce the sense of isolation that can come with early officiating experience. NNSWF general manager participation and women’s football Allana Neeve said the federation viewed refereeing as a critical part of women’s football and described the funded program as a pathway investment aimed at long-term sustainability.

From participation goal to workforce strategy

Over the past years, women’s player participation has boomed, but officiating pathways have not always expanded at the same pace, particularly in regional systems where access to experienced coaching and consistent appointments can be uneven.

That has consequences beyond referee numbers. Match officials are a core workforce input for competition quality, scheduling and player development. If attrition is high in early officiating years, federations are forced into constant replacement cycles rather than building depth.

In that context, mentor programs are increasingly treated as operational infrastructure, not supplementary participation projects. What matters is not only recruitment, but conversion: whether referees remain in the system long enough to progress into advanced appointments and eventually into coaching and leadership roles.

Northern NSW’s decision to embed mentoring in live competition rather than classroom-only delivery is a practical strength. Development feedback linked to real matches is generally more actionable for emerging referees than abstract technical sessions.

The next phase, however, will determine whether the program produces structural change. Initiatives launched around major events often generate strong short-term engagement but weaken across regular-season demands, especially where travel, study and work pressures are high.

Over time, the federation will need to show progress in second- and third-season retention, advancement into higher-grade appointments, and sustained mentor participation beyond flagship tournaments. Consistency across metropolitan and regional cohorts will also be central to any claim of pathway equity.

Public funding raises reporting expectations

Office of Sport support gives the program early stability, but it also raises the bar on transparency. Publicly supported pathway programs are typically expected to report outcomes, not just participation stories.

For this initiative, that means publishing practical indicators: cohort continuity, appointment progression and evidence that mentoring remains active throughout the season cycle. Without that reporting architecture, it is difficult to distinguish between a successful event and a durable reform.

For now, Northern NSW has delivered a credible first step: a defined mentor structure, named participants and immediate implementation inside a representative competition. The next challenge is to convert that start into a repeatable officiating pipeline.

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