Bentleigh Greens SC Strike Deal with Local Brand Inner Athlete

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Bentleigh Greens SC have announced a partnership with Inner Athlete as the club’s new sponsor after the JGNPL (Junior Girls National Premier League) season has concluded.

Inner Athlete is a gym who specialises in strength & conditioning training, injury rehab, and youth athlete development to help young athletes aged 10-18 years to move better in their respected sprots, as well as perform at their best.

Bentleigh Greens SC President, Abraam Gregoriou stated the reason they partnered with Inner Athlete is their recognition of young female athletes who require a tailored program to improve strength, increase recovery times and above all prevent injury.

“Inner Athlete are a trusted partner already, so it was a no brainer to pursue that relationship in season 2026,” he said to SoccerScene.

“Bentleigh Greens believes the women’s game can thrive but only if we invest in our female football players at all ages and that includes in programs that Inner Athlete provides.”

To celebrate the new sponsorship, Inner Athlete are offering Bentleigh Greens SC members free discovery calls to see what program is right for them.

They are also delivering a special program during the Term 3 school holidays (22 Sept – 4 Oct), JGNPL players can bring a teammate to a free training session at Inner Athlete.

The gym caters to all sportspeople from all levels under pro-leagues, with Inner Athlete training and mentoring young athletes who can later enrol in major sports programs like Football Victoria Academy, which Inner Athlete and Football Victoria are partnered.

Bentleigh Greens SC announced this week an investment of $2.4 million through federal, council and themselves funding to build a brand-new pitch at the Kingston Heath Soccer Complex for the purpose of developing women’s football in the area.

Now with the sponsorship news, it shows Bentleigh Greens SC is wanting to boost women’s sports, including their girls soccer teams, by partnering and engaging with parties who share the same values.

In the middle of the year, Bentleigh Greens U15 Girls head coach, Matt Crawford was interviewed on the Inner Athlete podcast where they shared their experience coaching young women soccer players.

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Vodafone has announced a partnership to sponsor the UEFA women’s international and club soccer competition, as well as to become an official partner of the UEFA Champions League.

The deal renews a partnership that first started in the late 2000s, where Vodafone was an official partner of the Champions League between 2006 and 2009.

The company will sponsor the UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Women’s Euros, UEFA Women’s Nations League, and some other international competitions until 2030.

Vodafone has networks in important European soccer markets, such as the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as partnerships in countries including France, Italy and Spain.

Included in the service will be Wifi hotspot zones and a dedicated customer service deck in selected venues during the competition season. Another feature of the service will be an opportunity to win match tickets. All of these features will provide a beneficial marketing opportunity for Vodafone.

Guy Laurent Epstein, UEFA’S executive director of marketing spoke about the alignment amonsgt both parties.

“We are delighted to welcome Vodafone as a sponsor of UEFA Women’s Football and a UEFA Champions League Licensee,” he said in a press release.

“Vodafone’s strong track record in supporting sport, coupled with their commitment to innovation and inclusion, aligns seamlessly with our ambition to grow the game at every level. Together, we look forward to creating impactful and engaging experiences that bring fans closer to the sport they love.”

Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s women’s soccer director shared an excited sentiment regarding the new deal.

“The meteoric rise of the women’s game, highlighted by the record-breaking success of this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euro is undeniable, and it continues to attract some of the world’s most recognisable brands eager to be a part of this groundbreaking moment.” Kessler said in a press release.

This partnership will likely be beneficial for both Vodafone and the UEFA women’s competition, as it will provide ample marketing opportunities and exposure for Vodafone, whereas Vodafone will supply financial backing, improved stadium experiences for fans, and overall elevating the women’s game.

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This month, the Global Institute of Sport (GIS) held an industry masterclass with guest speakers discussing the future of development in women’s sport.

The masterclass panel had two key speakers:

Chantella Perera, General Manager of Sport at KOJO.
Yael Reed, a sports marketing consultant who has worked with Newcastle Jets, Football Australia and Netball NSW.

These two industry experts, representing different areas of the women’s sporting world, delved into answering the event’s important goal of growth and sponsorship in women’s sport.

The role that media and commercial partners have in elevating women’s sport was a key point. Discussion was centred around the importance of encouraging broadcasters to invest in women’s sport directly and not just through male sport avenues.

Yael Reed spoke about the importance of media revenue being invested into women’s sports.

“Media partners with broadcast and commercial revenue is ultimately what is invested in the sport, and you need to invest to grow,” she said.

“Broadcast and commercial revenue also contributes to paying the players

“Media and coverage revenue is what is invested into the sport and their support is needed to help sports to grow, but also to benefit from, Women’s sport is no longer the steak knives.”

Chantella Perera, a former professional sportsperson and with KOJO a big leader in women’s sports events, outlined the position of women’s sports:

“From grassroots we see more equity with facilities and infrastructure for girls now. From my field in the event world lens, the investment from clubs and leagues is improving year on year. The disparity is still huge,” Perera said.

“There must be money invested to grow it. Yes, it is changing—a lot more females can do it as a job.

“But I feel we are still talking a lot but not doing a lot. People can make action, and it doesn’t have to be huge actions. Making those small steps towards that change is where we move forward.

“The Matildas’ success at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has sparked a rise in interest towards women’s football in the country.”

Perera, however, commented on the slow impact it has produced:

“It did have an impact with the eyes and traction, but we are still waiting for the influx of cash,”

“I’d challenge the effect and ask: two years on, have we seen enough from it? I just want to see if we can get more from it.”

A key point regarding investing in women’s sport and central to the discussion was how to invest in the differences between men’s and women’s sport.

Reed expressed her key ways in which this step can be tackled:

“It’s important for brands to consider Who they are trying to connect with? The benefit of women’s sport is it’s fresh and new (compared to men’s sport). There’s a lot to be unexpected. There are amazing people playing the sport and their story needs to be told,”

“I think when you can connect with athletes, with clubs, and harness that promotion and opportunity that’s there with women’s sport.

“The opportunity in women’s sport is to expect the unexpected.” Reed highlighted.

The important question of brand alignment became central to the discussion, with the equation for branding being relevance multiplied by emotion equals impact.

To harness the sponsor’s relevance to the team and the sport, harnessing that emotion and being relevant to the fans and showing up for them and having an impact promotes any brand.

An example presented by Reed was the Suzuki partnership with the Swifts:

“By putting players in their content and in the car the swift has been really positive,”

“The business case is there. We now have a greater asset in women’s sport to take your brands to the next level

“To have a women’s demographic is such a good asset for business branding.”

Women’s sport has faced challenges in gaining support and funding to expand and delve into the ever-growing popularity of the women’s game.

Sponsorships and businesses trying to grow their portfolio and market shouldn’t underestimate the power that women’s sport and football have.

It is unique and it is unexpected, as was discussed centrally in this masterclass.

The ways to grow women’s sport are there, and the benefits are evident. Sponsors need to take the necessary step and will undoubtedly reap the rewards if they do so.

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