Football NSW and CORE Community Services deliver successful ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program

Staff Writer

The recently established ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program, organised by Football NSW together with CORE Community Services has become quite the success story.

A statement from the Football New South Wales can be found here:

Fifty-one kids including 13 girls of newly arrived Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian families from the South Western Sydney communities registered to participate in a modified ALDI MiniRoos Kick-Off Program.

Its purpose to provide children between the ages of 4 and 11 who have experienced adversity in their lifetime with the opportunity to learn and play football.

The introductory program based at Ultimate Soccer in Fairfield embraces football as a way to endure the social challenges they face in the community.

It helps kids stay active, make friends and learn English on the go, while coaches teach them the fundamentals of football so they too can fall in love with the game.

Through the ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program, the kids received a bag and ball bearing the Western Sydney Wanderers’ logo, shin pads, a water bottle and stickers in their participant packs; while the coaches were also provided with a delivery kit, inclusive of pop-up goals, cones, bibs, etc.

It’s a gesture of goodwill to encourage them to continue with their active lifestyles outside the program and practising football, while giving the kids some added responsibility, to bring the ball to each session.

Hind, a mother of 3 boys involved in the program was delighted to be offered an avenue to football for her kids.

“The program is great because it brings everyone together and there is a real sense of community.”

Football NSW’s Game Development Officer – MiniRoos, Kevin Guardado Amaya​, accompanied by Fouad David, a Fairfield Bulls Coach and daughter Mariam, delivered the recent program with the help of other Football NSW Community Coaches.

Before arriving in Australia from Syria in July 2016, Fouad coached at a high level with Al-Khabur SC and played as a goalkeeper but ultimately his passion was to become a goalkeeper coach.

While, Mariam is an active participant in Fairfield High School’s Football 4 Development and Football NSW’s Community FC programs.

This year she joined Bossley Park Football Club after connecting with Catherine Cannuli, the Women’s Technical Director at SDSFA (Southern Districts Soccer Football Association).

Mariam’s dream is to one day become a professional football and play for her beloved Matildas but knows the difficult road ahead and the dedication it takes.

CORE Community Services’, Aylin Yokhana is the lead case worker for the ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program and initially started the football program with the help of the Telskuf Association and Fouad and Mariam.

Football NSW through the connections with various migrant resource centres then contacted CORE Community Services and eventually combined to provide additional resources in coaching, equipment, field hire and football packs for the kids with all the essentials.

 

MiniRoos Coaching Certificate

After the success of the first ALDI MiniRoos Settlement Program, CORE Community Services again linked up with Football NSW to organise a coach education night for adults on Thursday 1st August.

The event was held at Fairfield Hotspurs’ home ground at Prospect View Park and assisted by CORE representatives and the Telsfuk Association for the purpose of translating.

Football NSW’s Kevin Guardado Amaya delivered the program, where coaching experienced varied from never having coached before to an Olympic Football Team coach.

Once certified, participants will hopefully take up coaching at their local clubs next season.

For more information on ALDI MiniRoos Football visit miniroos.com.au

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

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Image credit: BBC

The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s influence and impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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