Austin FC has welcomed five official partners

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Austin FC
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Austin FC has announced Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Chevron, Austin Telco Federal Credit Union, The UPS Store and UBEO as official club partners.

As the 11th most populous city in America, it had been waiting for what seems like an eternity for its first professional sports franchise, as the club was founded in 2018 but it began to compete in 2021 as a member of Major League Soccer’s Western Conference.

Austin FC President Andy Loughnane said via press release:

“As the club moves into our third season, we are fortunate and grateful to welcome five new partners, each of whom will help Austin FC continue to achieve our mission of generating goodwill across our community with impactful, Austin-based programming.”

Each of the sponsors represent the direction Austin FC will head and will form the start of some potential long-term deals from humble beginnings.

AMD

The Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) specialises in high-performance and adaptive computing leading and has been part of the Austin technology community since 1979, will collaborate with Austin FC as an official Community Partner, under the partnership, AMD and Austin FC will join forces to host a community event at Q2 Stadium in 2023.

Home to more than 3,400 AMD employees, the city of Austin is focused on advancing the future of computing across the data centre, embedded, gaming and PC markets, billions of individuals, leading Fortune 500 Businesses and cutting-edge scientific research institutions globally depend on AMD technology daily to boost how they live, work and play.

Click here to learn more about AMD.

Chevron

One of the world’s largest energy companies, Chevron, will team up with Austin FC to support the local communities and environmental initiatives, additionally, it will also be prioritising across the city to guide local boys and girls as a means of entry to high-level football training and personal development activities to continue its help for the community.

By being the Official Energy Partner of Austin FC, Chevron will be given entitlement of the southwest corner of Q2 Stadium which will formally be named the Chevron Community Corner, for every corner that Austin FC takes at every home match will trigger a community giveback initiative.

Click here to learn more about Chevron.

Austin Telco Federal Credit Union

A member of the community-owned financial institution serving the Austin metropolitan area since 1941, Austin Telco Federal Credit Union joins Austin FC to collaborate as the Club’s Official Credit Union.

Every year, Austin FC and Austin Telco will entertain two Hispanic Austin Leadership events at Q2 Stadium, offering classes free of charge on a range of topics including leadership and finance.

Click here to learn more about Austin Telco.

UBEO

One of the original companies for the city of Austin, UBEO Business Services is now the Official Office Equipment supplier of Austin FC.

Established back in 2005, UBEO has branched out nationwide in the last five years obtaining 22 organisations, the company are expert in office workflow solutions and is a noble provider of Canon, Ricoh, Xerox and other frontrunners in technology brands.

Click here to learn more about UBEO Business Services.

The UPS Store

Dedicated to the success of the communities to which it operates and the high standards they have set themselves by the growth of the company, the UPS Store has doubled after growing to over 2,000 locations in 2002 and continues to go from strength to strength.

The UPS Store offers the public a golden opportunity to become their own boss, whether it’s entrepreneurs or corporate executives, including the chance for minorities, women, veterans and retirees to take a risk in their life, also the company always has jobs available throughout America.

Click here to learn more about the UPS Store.

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Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

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The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
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Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

LaLiga and RFEF launch RefCam in latest innovation drive

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Image credit: Marta Fernandez Jimenez / Shutterstock.com

The technology made its debut in Saturday’s clash between Atlético de Madrid and Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey final, marking the start a new era for fan experiences.

Giving the game a new perspective

With RefCam, LALIGA and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) will provide an entirely new way to see, and experience, live football.

Javier Alberola, the referee in charge of Saturday’s final, wore a headset-mounted camera and microphone, allowing spectators a unique look into the action of elite-level football.

Furthermore, the integrated audio provides fans with better transparency over in-game decisions, a move which strengthens the connection and understanding between fans and match officials while the game unfolds.

This is not just a step forward for officiating in Spain, but the beginning of a future where innovation and technology combine to provide fans with a new way to enjoy the game.

 

The plan moving forward

With the technology taking centre stage for the first time this weekend, RefCam will continue to feature in the coming matchweeks in Spain’s top-flight division.

The current vision is for RefCam to feature in one match per matchday, including the ultimate showdown between European giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid on Matchday 35. The best technology, for the best match-up in Spanish football.

As LALIGA begins the rollout of RefCam in the coming weeks, the potential is endless for new content and insights during live matches.

“The introduction of RefCam forms part of LALIGA’s broader strategy to keep transforming the way football is experienced, with a focus on making coverage more immersive, engaging and distinctive,” explained LALIGA via official press release.

“As well as enriching the live broadcast, RefCam opens up new opportunities across digital platforms by enabling the creation of innovative content and highlights from a truly unique viewpoint: that of the referee.”

 

Connection to the game

Indeed, the viewpoint of a referee is one which we often overlook as spectators.

As our attention is on the players, managers or on post-match highlights, we forget about the one person who sees the game closer than anyone else in the stadium.

That is what makes RefCam special. It gives us a point of view that we have never seen before.

And a new level of proximity and connection to the game we love.

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