Edgeworth Eagles undergoing significant infrastructure upgrades

Historic Northern NSW Football side Edgeworth Eagles have officially moved into their brand-new facilities, with further upgrades now underway.

The club, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2017 and currently are coached by former Newcastle Jets forward Michael Bridges, have gradually developed their home-ground Jack McLaughlin Oval into the veritable home of football it is today.

Edgeworth Players

12 premierships in the last 22 years means that the Eagles are undeniably one of the leading clubs in the Northern NSW National Premier Leagues division. Their investment in upgrading their player sheds, car park, canteen and toiletry facilities will mark a major step towards being a dominant force within the Northern NSW sporting community.

For Warren Mills, Football Director, Treasurer, long time committee member and clubman at Edgeworth Eagles, the prospect of getting the infrastructure upgrades underway was an exciting one.

Canteen

“It’s gone ahead now, it’s nearly a $1.5 million dollar development and we’re losing a bit of our land, but the car park outside is getting refurbished as well as there being a new entrance in the middle of the ground. So, there’ll be two entrances, an electric car charging port and an even bigger car park, which is all very exciting,” he said.

“The fact of the matter is, there’s no one worse off than us. Jack McLaughlin Oval is the only facility we’ve got and we’ve gone from three senior teams to four youth teams and eight SAP teams. Compared to seven years ago (and the 100 odd years before hand) we’ve now got fifteen teams.”

Dressing Rooms

Mills drew comparisons of Edgeworth’s latest refurbishments to the setup at English League One side Sunderland AFC in the ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ series.

“I’ve been running Edgeworth FC for the last 25 years, so, it’s been a long road and I’m probably getting a bit long in the tooth,” he added.

“We’ve spent about $600,000 of our own money and about $150,000 through grants over the last eight years. We’ve put in over a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of floodlighting – we’re the only NPL club that would have 500 Lux on their ground.

“We managed to get 25 $480 sponsors in order to cover the costs for player booths to be installed, as well as ice baths and tiles. Very similar to what you would’ve seen in ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ with their dressing shed, we’re putting about $15,000 into our setup.

“So, to get these new facilities along with all the work we’ve got out there – the clubhouse and everything else – it’s going to be a pretty fair setup.”

New Eagles building

When asked to reflect on the massive changes that Mills has led the club in undergoing over the years, the Edgeworth stalwart acknowledged the hard work of all involved.

“It’s massive. When I first went out there, there were a couple of old stands and it was falling apart. It’s been a lot of hard work, but I think whether you’re a player, an administrator or whatever the main reason you do it is for all of the friendships you make. The friendships you make through sport are what keeps you going,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of great people on the committee who are great friends and we’re very fortunate that three or four of our main five people involved at the club don’t have sons playing at the club, and I think that helps not having an attachment and doing it for the football.

“This particular development has been with the Lake Macquarie City Council and they’ve done an awesome job. We deserve this support and we certainly needed new facilities.”

Refurbishment Edgeworth

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Off the Pitch Podcast: Manny Spanoudakis on Cisco Systems

In episode seven of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch podcast, St George City FA Head Coach and Regional General Manager at Cisco Manny Spanoudakis joins the show to talk about his role at Cisco, as well as his experience and philosophy in coaching.

As the Regional General Manager for the Sports & Entertainment Solutions Group at Cisco, Spanoudakis is responsible for developing, leading and executing strategy in the Asia Pacific, Japan and China region.

Cisco is a global tech leader that’s helping organisations stay connected and secure in today’s AI-driven world.

For over 40 years, Cisco has played a key role in safely connecting people and businesses around the globe.

Spanoudakis spoke about his experience working on a range of stadiums and venues across Australia as a part of his role at the company.

“I guess if we just focus on the Australian market, there’s been an abundance of projects we’ve been very fortunate to have great success with,” he said on the podcast.

“If I start in Perth, I guess, and work my way east off the stadium is a major project, then we’re just doing a major refresh there after the original opening in 2018, Adelaide Oval, another major customer of ours.

“The Melbourne Cricket Ground just underwent significant and is still undergoing significant technology upgrades, it’s a project and a customer we’ve worked on for well over a decade.

“Marvel Stadium, the Melbourne Olympic Park precinct, the VRC in Flemington, Kardinia Park and GMHBA Stadium and Melbourne Racing Club, so there’s a very strong, we have a very strong customer base in Melbourne.”

Although his role as Regional General Manager at Cisco keeps him busy, Spanoudakis still finds time to pursue coaching and currently serves as the head coach at St George City FA.

Spanoudakis reflected on his early start in coaching—once the youngest coach in the league—and explained how his philosophy was deeply influenced by his upbringing and his father’s passion for football.

“When I transitioned into coaching, I was still relatively young,” he continued to say.

“It’s funny because I was talking to someone the other day that when I started coaching first grade in the NPL, NPL 1, I guess, or whatever the equivalent is in Victoria, the NPL, I was the youngest coach in the league in 2001 and now I think I’m the oldest coach in the league.

“But my coaching philosophy and my principles were very much shaped by my upbringing.

“I listened to Ange and people of my generation talk about the influence parents and fathers had and my dad was a footballer, was a very, very knowledgeable student of the game, so that shaped my upbringing.”

To learn more about his role at Cisco, listen to the full interview with Manny Spanoudakis on episode seven of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast – available on all major podcasting apps.

AFC Youth Online Session Champions Emotional Wellbeing

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the success of Asian teams with the delivery of the AFC Youth Online Session 2025, held on Thursday.

Nearly 120 participants from 41 Member Associations (MAs) took part in the session, which kicked off with an update on the highly regarded AFC Elite Youth Scheme—currently endorsed by 27 member nations.

Chaired by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, the virtual session delved into two key focus areas: supporting academies and youth coaches in developing and managing talented young footballers, and strengthening elite youth development programs across the region.

Following Australia’s victory at the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 earlier this year, the session also included a special discussion with Trevor Morgan, Head Coach of the championship-winning squad. Morgan offered valuable insights into the team’s journey to success, touching on everything from his coaching philosophy to the preparation and planning that led up to the tournament.

“My mantra is always to instill a mentality among youngsters where they’re not scared to make positive mistakes and not be punished for it,” he said via press release.

“We always encourage the players to play an open game and be unpredictable, which worked out well for Australia as the team scored in a variety of ways and did not just depend on set pieces.”

With the Young Socceroos also taking out the tournament’s Fair Play Award, Morgan spoke further on key topics such as player discipline, building team unity, adapting communication to better connect with younger players, and managing the emotional pressures of high-stakes competition.

Morgan’s session paved the way for the next speaker, Aspire Academy’s Maria Ruiz de Ona, who emphasised the importance of youth coaches developing emotional intelligence, empathy, and effective communication skills.

Building on these points, the Qatar Football Association’s Fahad Abdulla Al Zarraa stressed the importance of embedding emotional intelligence into coach education programs to foster stronger, more positive player-coach relationships. The evening concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where participants actively shared questions and reflections.

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