Central Coast Mariners choose Erina Fair to connect with local community

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Erina Fair
Image via Erina Fair

Central Coast Mariners have announced a new partnership with local shopping centre Erina Fair for the upcoming 2023/24 A-Leagues season.

Already in this partnership, the Mariners have used Erina Fair to announce new signings for their Women’s team, setting up meet and greets as well as activations for fans to engage in throughout the day.

Created in 1987, Erina Fair is the largest single level shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest shopping centre on the Central Coast and in Regional Australia. They have served the Central Coast region for over 35 years and has been a popular spot for the local community.

Mariners have a history with Erina fair already, welcoming the team home to the Central Coast after the huge Grand Final win last season, drawing a crowd of more than 3,000 people at Erina Fair’s Hive community space.

Mariners fans will benefit as a result of this new official partnership as they can look forward to new promotions, giveaways and community events over the coming months in the centre, including the co-branding of the Mariners Kids MyClub membership launching later this month.

Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp discussed what the partnership means for the club connecting with the community via press release.

“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Erina Fair, the Central Coast’s premier shopping complex. This collaboration is grounded in our shared commitment to giving back to the community, a value that we eagerly anticipate championing together,” he said.

“With Erina Fair as an official partner, we have the opportunity to further extend our outreach within the Central Coast community. We are delighted to welcome them into the Mariners Family, and we look forward to the positive impact we can create together.”

Stephen Ross, Erina Fair Centre Management, also shared the same sentiment in this relationship with the Mariners.

“We’re proud to be on board as a community partner with the Central Coast Mariners this season. The team has a central place in the local sporting community and their work with junior sporting organisations and schools shows their commitment to leaving a positive legacy,” he added via Mariners press release.

“Building on the success of the champion celebration earlier this year, this partnership at Erina Fair will provide our Central Coast community with more opportunities to connect with a local favourite team.”

The collaboration with Erina Fair makes a lot of sense for the Mariners as it allows them to connect even closer to the local community which has certainly been a big focus over recent years. It will mean that new signings and family days can become bigger events that can engage the local fans at a popular location.

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Capital Football Introduces Pink Armband to Protect Junior Referees

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Image Credit: Marist Canberra FC

Capital Football has launched a visible identification program for referees under 18, requiring them to wear a pink armband during matches. It’s intended to build awareness surrounding the concern across Australian football about the abuse driving young officials out of the game.

The Pink Armband Initiative, effective immediately across Capital Football’s competitions in the ACT and surrounding region, makes junior referees identifiable to players, coaches and spectators. The federation says the marker is designed to set clear behavioural expectations and signal that many match officials are minors still developing their skills.

Capital Football acknowledged a referee crisis as far back as 2022, at which point it restructured its entire referee department in partnership with Football Australia. The pink armband program is the latest layer of that response; this time by targeting the cultural conditions on match day rather than systems of recruitment and pay.

A problem that spans codes and states

Research has consistently linked referee abuse to declining retention rates, with officials quitting in growing numbers due to sustained mistreatment, a trend researchers warn will reduce the pool of skilled match officials available at all levels of the game. Studies also show that young, less experienced referees are disproportionately likely to be subject to abuse.

Capital Football is not alone in reaching for a visible solution. Similar programs operate across Football Queensland, Football South Australia, Football South Coast and several other federations, while Basketball Victoria and Basketball South Australia have adopted comparable measures through the Green Whistle initiative. The spread of these programs across codes and states reflects a shared administrative problem: many grassroots referees are teenagers and volunteers who do not officiate for money but because they love the game, and abuse is eroding that foundation.

For a federation overseeing nearly 29,000 registered players, fewer referees means fewer matches. Fewer matches means reduced participation. The pink armband is a low-cost intervention with structural consequences if it works.

Compliance and competition: Everton ordered to pay compensation following major verdict

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Image credit: JSvideos / Shutterstock.com

In a landmark decision by the Premier League Independent Disciplinary Commission, Everton must now pay Burnley upwards of AUD 66 million (£35 million) after breaching financial rules in the 2021-22 season.

Behind the verdict

Playing in the Premier League is, in itself, one of the most lucrative positions for a club to be in. This year’s Championship Play-off final – a contest deemed ‘the richest match in football’ – guaranteed winners Hull City a revenue uplift of AUD 389 million (£205 million) according to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.

It is no wonder, therefore, why teams are so desperate to stay at the top of the pyramid, especially given that relegation can lead to heavy financial hits in revenue, wage reduction and transfer spending power.

Competition is certain – and the football is all the better for it. But when this competitive edge overtakes compliance, what happens off the field is just as impactful.

In 2023, the Premier League charged Everton with breaching financial rules during the 2021-22 season – the same season which saw the Toffees finish just four points above relegated Burnley. Everton received an initial 10-point deduction, which ultimately decreased to six points on appeal.

That season, Everton stayed up. But for Burnley, had the points deduction come at an earlier date, their survival in the top-flight may have been secured.

 

What did the ruling find?

In its verdict, the Premier League’s Independent Disciplinary Commission deemed that Everton gained a competitive advantage over Burnley as a result of financial breaches.

Burnley will now receive AUD 66 million (£35 million) in compensation from Everton, although the Merseyside club will appeal the  commission’s decision.

“This ruling sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football, given it is constructed on a principle that a club can be in breach of financial rules at any point in a financial year,” Everton said via an official club statement.

Burnley, on the other hand, reaffirmed its position that the case was a question of fair play and ensuring a level playing field.

“Our action has always been about making football fair,” the club said via an official statement.

“Clubs that comply with the rules deserve to compete on a level playing field. Fans deserve it. The sport demands it.”

 

The impact of the case

This is a landmark decision which may have profound effects on the future of financial compliance in English football.

In the past, financial breaches remained within the realm of just that – finances. But with the ruling between Everton and Burnley, it now opens up further questions on what compliance is actually worth in the game.

And whether future investigations may lead to similar – or even higher – compensation packages to affected clubs.

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