
Football Coaches Australia (FCA) – Australia’s national Association for qualified coaches at professional, semi-professional & community levels – and Heartbeat of Football (HOF) have agreed to work together to promote healthy hearts in Football and enhance one of FCA’s key pillars: Wellbeing.
Glenn Warry, FCA CEO stated:
“Football Coaches Australia is pleased to be partnering with Heartbeat of Football to raise awareness of heart health to all football coach cohorts around the country. There are two important reasons for coaches at all levels to be involved:
“Firstly, to understand their own wellbeing status and need to monitor their own health via the Heart Health Check as coaching at all levels can lead to increased stress levels. There are a range of negative emotional, physical and behavioural responses to stress and this includes cardiovascular and other serious medical conditions.
“Secondly, to promote and support education of all other stakeholders at their Clubs via CPR & Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training and ensuring that the Club’s AED is accessible & rescue-ready. This important education should be integral within all coach professional development programs.”
Andy Paschalidis, HOF Founder & CEO, added:
“It is vitally important that the whole football family gets behind heart health awareness in our game, and having FCA’s support is critical as coaches as educators and influencers can play a key role in spreading the life-saving messages of getting your heart health checked regularly and advocating for defibrillators at all sporting grounds that are “Rescue-Ready” – VISIBLE, ACCESSIBLE and ACTIONABLE.”
FCA and HOF will work together on advocacy and awareness programmes, as well extending the unique preventative heart health testing days to FCA members – working together to save lives!
Football Coaches Australia (FCA) was formed in November 2017 and is Australia’s national Association for qualified coaches. Football Coaches Australia currently consists of over 250 Advance Licence and Community coach members across the country. Through close collaboration with each member State Federation and Football Australia (FA), and leveraging corporate and government relationships, they aim to provide a holistic support model for coaches – with key pillars of Advocacy, Professional Development, Wellbeing and Gender Equity and Diversity.
The objectives of Football Coaches Australia are:
- Represent and provide a collective voice for professional and community football coaches.
- Provide opportunities for Australian football coaches to contribute intellectually to national player pathways.
Heartbeat of Football Heartbeat of Football (HOF), a not-for-profit organisation, was established in early 2016 by media personality and football enthusiast Andy Paschalidis as a direct result of cardiac arrest events on the football field. Heartbeat of Football promotes healthy hearts in sport via:
- Awareness & Education: player, participant & community programs;
- Prevention: minimisation of health risks through simple screening checks and
- Action: “rescue-ready” defibrillators at all sporting fields around the country, starting in NSW.