Coomera FC to benefit from multi-million dollar facility upgrades

Coomera FC facility upgrade

Coomera FC will have their clubhouse and fields upgraded next year, with the multi-million dollar operation set to be completed by June 2025.

The upgrades include three full size pitches under lights at Viney Park, the club’s home ground, which is being funded by the City of Gold Coast to the tune of $5 million.

A $2.3 million funding grant for a replacement of the clubhouse at the premises was also approved by the City of Gold Coast. This funding is now also supported by the Federal Government.

“We will be seeking an additional funding from QLD Government, Football Australia and Football Queensland,” a club spokesperson stated.

“The concepts provided are the concepts the club is committed to and we will be working closely with the City of Gold Coast to deliver this project. in the event of additional funding being required the club will source that funding from Fund Raising and Sponsorship support.”

The approved plan as per City of Gold Coast.

Currently, the clubhouse doesn’t have female friendly change rooms, so the slated upgrades will dramatically improve conditions for females involved within the club.

“The upgrades are essential to facilitate female participation,” a spokesperson stated.

“The existing Clubhouse is approximately 40 years old and totally inadequate for our female members. We currently have females either changing before they get to the fields or at times changing on the fields due to the inadequacy of our changing facilities.”

The upgrades will provide the club and the local community in Coomera with many positives over time.

“The field upgrades will provide 3 full size fields under lights with full size fields to the east and west of the new clubhouse, which is not the case currently,” a spokesperson for the club said.

“This will enable fixtures to be run in closer proximity to the clubhouse providing more convenient access to facilities to our players, coaches, officials and parents.”

The replacement of the clubhouse will support the club’s recent advancement into the FQ Academy Leagues for Miniroos and uniors providing the highest  standard facilities which is a premium asset to the game of football within our community and the state.

It will also improve the amenity for all members, and as a community-based club of approximately 800 members, we will continue to have a strong socially based membership of approximately 650 members providing ‘Minimum Viable Products’ which is essential for our community participation in football

The upgraded facility combined with the advanced football programs means that our players can develop within their community and do not need to travel significant distances and incur significant fees to pursue advanced football.

The club itself has grown significantly over the past few years, with Brisbane Roar legend Henrique being heavily involved in the make of the setup.

“Henrique was engaged as our Technical Director in 2019, with the commencement of the current committee, with a vision to improve the standard of coaching and create advanced football opportunities for our members,” a club spokesperson explained.

“At the time of his engagement, we participated in Football Queensland South Coast Miniroos and junior and senior competitive competitions.

After this with the elevation of coaching within the club we now participate in Football Queensland Academy Leagues for Miniroos and juniors (Under 10 to Under 18) and have developed our own competition for our under 5 to under 7 players in a format designated ‘Friday Night Lights’, where 16 to 24 teams have competitions every Friday night between 4:30PM to 6:30PM.

On the back of these upgrades the club wants to continue to grow and has clear strategic priorities to take them to the next level.

“Firstly, we want to elevate the structure of our coaching to ensure that the highest level of football is attainable in a community environment – to enable footballers to remain in their community,” a spokesperson said.

“Secondly, but as equally important, is to improve the facilities available to all members so we can provide a modern, appropriate, safe and enjoyable environment for our footballing community.

“The first component is a continuing journey and there will be a strong emphasis on growing the female participation on the back of the Women’s World Cup success and offering the same advanced opportunities for our girls to develop within their community.

“As the club increases its membership beyond the current capacity of approximately 900 members, we will seek to either improve the current facilities to increase the capacity,” the spokesperson added,

“The club remains committed to our community to provide the best footballing experiences which is embodied in our current mission: ‘We exist to serve grassroots football, create player pathways, and provide quality football experiences that cater for all participants’.”

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Philip Panas is a sports journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy and industry matters, drawing on his knowledge and passion of the game.

Serie A to stay on DAZN and Sky screens to 2029

DAZN and Sky will retain the rights to broadcast live Serie A matches in Italy for the next five seasons after Italian clubs accepted bids worth at least 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion).

After four months of discussions, the Serie A teams convened to examine final bids from streaming services DAZN and Sky, which totalled around 900 million euros each year until the conclusion of the 2028/2029 season, barely below the existing agreement’s yearly worth.

Seventeen of the 20 clubs backed the offer but the decision drew sharp criticism from Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

“It’s a total defeat for Italian football, these deals will be the death of Italian football. The problem is being a borrower or an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur must know how to measure the risk area, it is more convenient but this will never implement the value of Italian football”, he stated via press release.

Serie A earns around 930 million euros every season from the sale of its TV rights in Italy under a three-year contract that expires next June, with DAZN once again taking the lion’s share. DAZN will exclusively carry seven Serie A games each week (266 out of 380 matches per season). The remaining three will be carried by DAZN and Sky (114 matches per season).

In recent months, Serie A explored the creation of a media platform to distribute matches to other TV outlets as well as the launch of a home-run live video subscription service.

Torino chairman Urbano Cairo was all for the deal claiming the league was correct to continue the partnership.

“Figures were below our initial expectations and below our current contracts, but I think we were right to continue our relationship with Sky and DAZN. Creating a Serie A TV channel now, would had meant adding further risk to a risky business he stated via press release,” he told reporters.

When some variable components tied to revenue sharing are included, the new contracts may match or even exceed the value of the present contracts and reach 1 billion euros.

Strategic Plan 2023-2026 launched by Football West

Football West Strategic Plan

Football West recently announced the launch of their 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, a documentation affiliated with Football Australia’s One Football Strategy that will set the direction for football in Western Australia for the coming years.

The plan will see Football West improve the game under five essential departments:

  • Participants and Clubs
  • Elite Teams and Pathways
  • Fans
  • Unifying Football
  • Asia and the Sam Kerr Football Centre

Participants and Clubs

The first pillar has the aim to make Football the most accessible sport in Western Australia where everyone can play anytime, anywhere.

There are key targets set such as: Increase registrations by 5% per annum, increase participation by 3% per annum and have 95% of clubs and associations with a completed affiliation agreement (presently 82%).

Another key focus is the development of women and girls football which isn’t surprising after the recent Women’s World Cup success. Football West set a goal of 42,500 additional women & girls playing football across the three year plan.

Elite Teams and Pathways

This pillar focuses simply on the development of talent at all ages in a bid to improve the quality of the game in Western Australia.

The focus areas are Delivery of a state-wide Football West Academy program, Frequent and consistent talent identification opportunities and High quality coach development pathway

Fans

Football West is focusing on optimising the fan experience and grassroots to improve attendance numbers and social media engagement.

Unifying Football

They will develop a resourcing model that allows for the servicing of responsibilities between Football Australia and Football West, formalised in a Service Agreement

Asia and the Sam Kerr Football Centre

Football West will look to improve international exchanges with Asian countries and use the Sam Kerr Football Centre to secure sponsorships and play big matches there by 2026.

Football West Chairman Sherif Andrawes mentioned the vision that the federation has for the future of football across all levels.

“We are excited to present the Strategic Plan to the WA football community. This is a vision that will see football move forward in tandem with Football Australia but with a strong WA focus,” Andrawes said in a statement.

“Football is in a great position across the state. We saw during the FIFA Women’s World Cup and, more recently, when the CommBank Matildas played in Perth, that our sport is unique in its widespread appeal. This passion can be felt across all areas of the game.

“We want to be bold and ambitious, and the Strategic Plan gives us a strong base from which to deliver on that.”

Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell was excited to announce how the Strategic Plan would be implemented successfully.

“This Strategic Plan is a real statement of intent and one we are proud to deliver. Harnwell mentioned in a Football West statement.

“Football is more popular than it has ever been in Western Australia, in terms of participation, inclusivity and popularity, and we should all be proud of this. However, we cannot rest on our laurels.

“As a governing body, we want to make our game even more accessible, so we can inspire a new generation to love football. That comes through hard work, consultation and direction, all of which are key to the Strategic Plan.”

The Strategic Plan is well set out and focuses on the current struggles the federation is having at grassroots level. Partnering closely with Football Australia will help them achieve the ambitious goals set out to improve both the state and national foundation.

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