Central Coast Mariners lock in partnership with Zreicon

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Central Coast Mariners
Image credit: Central Coast Mariners

Central Coast Mariners have joined forces with local commercial construction company Zreicon who is the new senior club partner.

Zreicon is a central coast-based commercial construction company devoting itself in new builds throughout Newcastle, Central Coast and Sydney. With over 25 years of experience in the building industry, the company is dedicated to providing extraordinary quality and excellent service in every aspect and project.

The founder of the company, Tony Zreik, graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Building, and has exerted himself in an abundant facet of the construction industry ever since. His life has always been everything related to building, especially making certain projects are built precisely to perfection.

The team at Zreicon has a wide range of valuable experience cooperating with the highest level companies as Project Managers, Engineers and Operations Managers on all sorts of projects in construction, the builders and subcontractors deliver safe, superior quality solutions to meet market demand.

What differentiates Zreicon from the competition is that they deliver architectural finishes and meticulous attention to the finest of margins in detail.

Just to name a few of the sustainability goals of the company, it includes ecologic materials and oils, human charity for fourth-world countries and the state of the art metal roofing.

Junior Development Manager for Zreicon, Lilly Leary, said via press release:

“Zreicon Pty Ltd is a Central Coast-based construction company with a number of bespoke projects, we are looking forward to our partnership with CCM, particularly because of their proven contribution to youth development in the region.”

Central Coast Mariners Commercial Manager, Gabby Bowles added via press release:

“Zreicon is a company helping to grow the Central Coast, creating jobs and prosperity for the region, to have their backing to help grow our Club and support our development pathways for local youth is fantastic.”

For more information about Zreicon, click here.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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