Football Coaches Australia and Sport Session Planner announce world-leading partnership

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FCA SSP Partnership

Football Coaches Australia have today announced an exciting new partnership with Sport Session Planner – one of the world’s leading professional development program designers.

The ground-breaking agreement will provide FCA members with support and access to world class tools and programs to support them in planning and delivering training programs and sessions at both a micro and macro level.

Sport Session Planner was formed in 2011 by Magnus Alford and internationally renowned IT specialists. SSP has grown to be recognised as one of the world’s leading sports software providers for individual coaches, clubs and national sporting organisations globally.

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In finalising the partnership Magnus said it would help take coaching to the next level in Australia.

“We’re really excited about the direction FCA are moving towards and knowing that, together, we can provide a robust and empowering structure to support the ecosystem of the coach on their journey; it’s a momentous partnership for SSP,” he said.

FCA Chief Executive Officer Glenn Warry said the coming together was another crucial step towards offering coaches all the tools for success required to thrive in their role.

“Teaming with Sport Session Planner will enable FCA to connect with community and  accredited coaches Australia wide, and fully supports FCA’s mantra of ‘For Coaches, By Coaches’,” Warry said.

“Australian football coaches, working in similar environments whether in metropolitan or regional and country football, will conduct the professional development sessions.”

Library

James Robinson, Head of SSP Australasia, works closely with Australian football coaches and believes this partnership will help strengthen coaching both individually and collectively.

“Knowing that our partnership will strengthen the coaching process for the individual coach and our game as a whole, will give confidence and ownership to every stakeholder in the football landscape,” Robinson said.

FCA/SSP will:

  • Partner on the delivery of a jointly developed annual professional development curriculum for community and accredited coaches.
  • Collaborate on the development and delivery of professional development webinar programs to ensure they suit the needs of coaches at varying levels.
  • Provide coaches with access to their own private library resource, the FCA library, where they can save and share with FCA members, the curriculum library and the public library which has over 1 million sessions.
  • Improve ongoing learning options for coaches, alongside Football Australia and State Member Federation Coaching Licence courses, and deliver programs aligned with the FA Principles of Play – ‘Attack, defence and transition’.
  • Allow coaches to prepare and review their session plans and annual plan to aid training, prepare for matches and record incidents in the game for analysis.
  • Be accessible via all platforms – desktop, tablet, Android and IOS devices and allow coaches to share resources nationally and internationally.

Pathways

On behalf of Australian football coaches the key professional development opportunities that FCA pursue for its members are to:

  1. Organise and provide continuing ‘revalidation’ professional development activities for Australian football coaches.
  2. Provide opportunities for Australian football coaches to contribute intellectually to football decision-making that impacts on their role.
  3. Implement world leading benchmarks, programs and practices to enhance the best practice and capabilities of Australian football coaches and players.

”FCA’s partnerships with X-Venture (FCA XV Essential Skills Program) and Sport Session Planner both align with FA’s Guiding Principle VI  ‘to create a strong culture around coach development by emphasising the importance of the role as a skilled position and a vital link in player development’,” Warry concluded.

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Bentleigh Greens and Metricon Bring Local Business Community Together Through Networking Initiative

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Image Credit: One-Nil Media

Bentleigh Greens FC has reinforced its commitment to supporting its community beyond football, partnering with Metricon Homes to host a business networking evening designed to strengthen relationships between local businesses, sponsors and club stakeholders.

 

A unique setting for meaningful connections

Held inside one of Metricon’s display homes, the Bentleigh Greens Business Networking Night welcomed around 60 local business owners, club partners and community leaders for an evening focused on connection, collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Rather than a traditional function space, Metricon opened the doors of one of its display homes, creating a unique networking environment that highlighted how the space could be transformed into a premium venue while providing guests with a relaxed setting to build professional relationships.

The event reflects a growing trend across community football, where clubs are increasingly positioning themselves as platforms for business engagement and local economic development, alongside their role in delivering participation opportunities on the pitch.

Guests also heard from strategic futurist Marcus Barber, who delivered a presentation examining the growing influence of artificial intelligence on modern business. His insights encouraged attendees to consider how emerging technologies are reshaping industries and the importance of preparing for future change.

 

Creating value beyond sponsorship

While commercial outcomes were never the primary objective, the evening was designed to create long-term value by fostering meaningful relationships between businesses connected to the Bentleigh Greens community.

Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with several attendees already establishing new contacts and beginning discussions around potential collaborations.

The initiative also highlights Metricon’s broader commitment to supporting local communities beyond residential construction. By partnering with Bentleigh Greens and providing the venue, the company helped facilitate an event that encouraged learning, networking and stronger community connections.

 

Football clubs as community business hubs

For community football clubs, initiatives such as these demonstrate how partnerships can extend beyond traditional sponsorship models. By creating opportunities for local businesses to engage with one another, clubs can strengthen their commercial networks while delivering tangible value to sponsors and the wider community.

As football clubs continue to explore new ways of engaging stakeholders off the field, events like the Bentleigh Greens Business Networking Night illustrate how sport can serve as a catalyst for meaningful business relationships and long-term community growth.

Football NSW builds life‑saving network as cardiac safety push expands

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has distributed 20 defibrillators to associations and regional clubs through its Every Beat Matters campaign, part of a broader push to improve cardiac emergency preparedness across the state’s football network.

Sixteen of the devices were presented to participating associations at the inaugural Football NSW Association Championships in Mudgee. A further four went to regional clubs: Cowra and District Soccer Club, Westside Panthers, Yerrinbool Bargo Soccer Club and Narooma Football Club.

The rollout builds on the Heartbeat of Sport AED Mapping Project, which is mapping defibrillator placement at sporting facilities across NSW with funding from the Minns Labor Government. Twelve football associations have joined the effort, including Eastern Suburbs, Manly Warringah, Granville, Southern Districts, Nepean, Northern Suburbs, Football Canterbury, Bankstown, Hills, Sutherland Shire, North West Sydney Football and Football South Coast.

Data collected through the mapping project is being fed into NSW Ambulance’s GoodSAM emergency response system and NSW Health’s public AED map, enabling first responders to locate nearby defibrillators in real time.

The initiative responds to a gap that had gone largely unexamined. More than 2,400 defibrillators have been deployed across NSW sports facilities through the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program, which offers grants of up to $3,000 to eligible organisations. But a device not registered in emergency response systems provides significantly less value than one that is accurately mapped and immediately locatable.

The urgency is not abstract. At Doyalson Wyee Football Club, a 70‑year‑old player survived a sudden on‑field cardiac arrest because an AED was available on site. Survival rates drop by about 10 per cent for every minute without defibrillation.

Football NSW is also establishing a long‑term defibrillator register to track equipment distribution, access and maintenance across all 636 clubs and 31 associations. The Every Beat Matters campaign, supported by Toyota and St John Ambulance, aims to raise about $240,000 through a raffle to fund an initial rollout of 65 defibrillators to clubs currently without access, prioritising regional and lower socio‑economic areas.

The #HeartHealthMatters Program is delivering CPR and AED familiarisation training to sporting organisations, with a particular focus on regional communities where ambulance response times are often longer and volunteer bases smaller.

The ambition, in the words of project organisers, is straightforward: that no preventable death occurs on a football ground because the right equipment was not there, or could not be found.

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