FC Augsburg switch kit producer for the 2023/24 season and beyond

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FC Augsburg
Image credit: FC Augsburg

From the 2023/24 season, Japanese company Mizuno will take over in producing the kits and training clothing for FC Augsburg’s men’s, women’s, and junior teams. The deal between the two parties has been signed for the next five years.

FC Augsburg will part ways with their current kit manufacturer, Nike, at the conclusion of the 2022/23 German Bundesliga season. For the last 8 years, Nike exclusively created and designed the kits of FC Augsburg.

Mizuno was created in 1904 by two brothers – Rihachi and Rizo Mizuno. The company produce a wide range of sportswear goods for a variety of different sports. Mizuno pride themselves on being able to produce the most beneficial and superior products compared to other sportswear manufacturing companies across the world.

Mizuno are a unique company as they aim to be carbon neutral by 2050. This plan has meant that Mizuno produce their products in the most sustainable way possible, with a big emphasis on environmental protection and nature conservation.

As well as producing football kits that are sustainable to the environment, Mizuno are known to create very attractive kits. Mizuno are also the kit manufacturer of Lazio in the Italian Serie A and fellow Bundesliga club, VfL Bochum.  Mizuno’s kit for VfL Bochum was voted the most beautiful jersey this season in the Bundesliga.

Mizuno adding FC Augsburg to their list of European football clubs, which they partner with, will only prove beneficial to the company. Creating environmentally-friendly football kits will attract further partnership opportunities for Mizuno, as football clubs are now more conscious of becoming carbon friendly. With the added fact that Mizuno are known to produce beautifully designed kits, expect Mizuno to partner with some of the biggest football clubs in Europe in the near future.

In a media statement, Mizuno Head of Global Marketing, Mark Kaiway, said:

‘’We are all excited about the partnership and we look forward to offering high quality, functional and stylish products from the Mizuno brand.’’

The deal between FC Augsburg and Mizuno is also exciting for fans of FC Augsburg, as Mizuno is open to collaborating with fans in the creation of the Club’s playing kit and training gear.  This is another reason why FC Augsburg were committed to signing with Mizuno. FC Augsburg Managing Director, Michael Stroll added via press release:

‘’For us, when selecting the new outfitter, the focus was not only on quality, but also on the design options for individual jerseys.’’

This will give fans a unique opportunity to add potential design ideas to their Club’s kits. The relationship Mizuno are willing to have with the fans is novel and uncommon among other football kit manufacturers.

This deal between FC Augsburg and Mizuno is a coming together of two companies with a shared vision, as Stroll added in a statement:

‘’With its high quality and product standard in individual designs and the focused commitment to sustainability, Mizuno fits perfectly with our orientation’’.

This partnership is an exciting deal for all parties involved, and they look forward to seeing the newly designed kits for next season.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

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Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

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