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Football Victoria announce 30 new 5-Star clubs

Football Victoria has confirmed the 30 latest inductees into the Club Engagement Program (CEP) 5-Star club.

The 5-Star status was awarded to 22 community, 1 NPLW and 7 NPL clubs across Victoria.

Seven clubs were inducted into the exclusive group last year.

Football Victoria CEO Peter Filopoulos claimed the creation of the CEP and Club Ambassadors were an important initiative under the state federation’s strategic pillar of Clubs. The program helps clubs throughout the state become stronger and gives them the opportunity to provide consistent positive experiences for all.

The CEP is an on-line development platform that gives clubs the chance to answer a series of questions regarding all aspects of their football such as:

  • Governance and Capacity;
  • Female Participation;
  • Inclusive Participation;
  • Facilities;
  • Meeting Demand;
  • Community Citizenship; and
  • Football Experience.

The program’s objectives and a number of its measurement methods were used last month by Football Federation Australia. The federation launched the program as The National Club Development Program (NCDP).

Mr Filopoulos said the program recognised clubs for the things they did well, but also gave them an aspirational template to strive for further success.

“Our clubs and players are the very reason FV exists.  We have a commitment and a duty to help them be viable, sustainable and successful. We want them to be the very best they can be regardless of status, geography or demography,” Mr Filopoulos said.

“We know that our clubs are all different because of their demographics, socio-economic factors, facilities, local council relationships, competitor activity and regional factors.

“Ensuring they are strong, vibrant and delivering great experiences for all is a core strategic pillar of Football Victoria to help grow the number of participants of all ages, genders and abilities in our great game.

“Over the past two years in Victoria, we have invested heavily in directly engaging clubs with our Club Ambassadors and providing them with a successful framework to improve. We welcome the NCDP being rolled out nationally by the FFA.”

The full list of all the Victorian 5-Star clubs is below.

5-Star Clubs League
Altona City SC Community
Aspendale SC Community
Berwick City SC Community
Brighton SC Community
Brimbank Stallions FC* Community
Casey Comets FC Community
Chelsea FC Community
Collingwood City FC Community
Coonans Hill SC Community
Craigieburn City FC Community
East Gippsland United FC Community
Essendon Royals SC Community
Fawkner SC Community
Glen Eira FC Community
Hampton Junior SC Community
Keilor Park SC* Community
Maribyrnong Swifts FC Community
Mount Martha SC Community
Myrtleford Savoy SC* Community
North Caulfield Junior & Women FC Community
Sandringham SC Community
South Yarra SC Community
Spring Hills FC Community
Thomastown Raiders FC Community
Wangaratta City FC* Community
Williamstown SC Community
Ballarat City FC NPL
Brunswick City SC NPL
Dandenong City SC NPL
Dandenong Thunder SC NPL
Green Gully SC NPL
Moreland City SC NPL
Moreland Zebras FC* NPL
Pascoe Vale FC* NPL
Whittlesea Ranges FC NPL
Bayside United FC NPLW
Calder United SC* NPLW

*Existing 5-Star Club

Philip Panas is a sports journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy and industry matters, drawing on his knowledge and passion of the game.

Paramount+ secures Premier League deal overseas

A-Leagues broadcaster Paramount+ has secured a three-year deal for English Premier League broadcast rights in Mexico and Central America.

A-Leagues broadcaster Paramount+ has secured a three-year deal for English Premier League rights in Mexico and Central America from the start of the 2022/23 season.

The new partnership will mark the end of pay-TV provider Sky Mexico’s reign as the only Premier League broadcaster in the region.

All 380 English Premier League matches will be streamed live through Paramount+ and ‘PlutoTV’ who is the aggregated streaming platform for Paramount+.

The contract covers Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. It also includes Belize and the Dominican Republic but on a non-exclusive basis.

Paramount+, owned by ViacomCBS, has also secured a Premier League feed for its platforms featuring 24/7 coverage of the competition.

ViacomCBS launched Paramount+ in the US in 2019 with several high-profile soccer rights acquisitions. This included International matches, CONCACAF, UEFA Champions League, as well as top flight football from Italy, Argentina and Brazil.

The Premier League rights deal marks an expansion of operations in Central America ahead of moving into a number of additional territories by 2023, including the UK, Ireland, Germany and Italy.

Premier League Chief Executive Officer, Paul Molnar:

“We are very happy that ViacomCBS views the Premier League and our clubs as a vital part of their live sports offering,” he said.

“ViacomCBS platforms, including Paramount+ and Pluto TV, will be an outstanding home for the Premier League and we look forward to working together to showcase the league to new and existing fans throughout Central America and Mexico.”

Paramount+ has already made their mark in Australia, providing live coverage for A-League men’s and women’s competitions for subscribers to the platform.

ViacomCBS President and Chief Executive, Raffaele Annecchino:

“We know audiences around the world are passionate about sports, and especially about football. This partnership with the Premier League brings exclusive content directly to those fans, live for the first time on Paramount+ in Mexico and Central America,” he said.

“Live sports are an important differentiator for our streaming service, and as we’ve seen in the US and Australia, we are confident this will drive subscriber growth as we continue to offer the best mix of entertainment and now – live sports.”

LaLiga celebrates five years of international growth

LaLiga has celebrated five years of it's very own unique international structure that has driven worldwide expansion of the competition.

LaLiga has celebrated five years of it’s very own unique international structure that has driven worldwide expansion of the competition, turning the Spanish league into a world-leading reference for the sports industry.

The LaLiga Global Network program was launched in early January 2017, and is present in 41 different countries, with 44 on-site delegates and another 11 employees working from LaLiga headquarters in Madrid.

The program also has 11 international offices and two joint ventures in North America and China. The international expansion strategy has covered over 90 different countries, boasting an extreme amount of growth throughout a five-year period.

It is a big reason why more and more people around the world are falling in love with LaLiga football.

LaLiga executive director Oscar Mayo:

“Five years ago, we embarked on an ambitious mission to bring the entertainment and emotion of LaLiga to more fans around the world and to help grow football as a sport everywhere,” he said.

“We are very proud that LaLiga and its main protagonists, clubs, players, coaches, are closer today to more people around the world than ever before.

“That said, this is just the beginning, together with clubs and with the support of our new partner CVC, we will give our international efforts a massive boost.”

The internationalisation strategy has had a positive effect in the growth of the community within LaLiga facts across the globe, as the league now possesses 146 million followers.

LaLiga produces plenty of content, however what is unique is that the content is published in over 20 different languages across 17 different social media platforms, allowing discussions about the league to occur in many different places.

Out of all the top five leagues in Europe, LaLiga has the largest following. Even in recent years, the number of international activations organised by LaLiga has doubled, reaching 1,222 across more than 90 countries.

Mayo continued:

“When it comes to football fans outside of Spain, we always say that we would like to be everyone’s second most popular league, after their local league,” he said.

“National leagues are the true engine of football and that’s why LaLiga is sharing the recipe of its own success with leagues, federations and clubs around the world.

“The growing number of commercial partnerships around the world is a sign of the increasing relevance of LaLiga. Our commercial partner are a very important part of LaLiga fan engagement.”

La Liga has had 247% in the value of the competitions’ international audiovisual rights since 2013/14 and a boost to the value of the LaLiga brand.

The numbers confirm that Spanish football has captivated fans all over the world, whilst attesting to the success of the internationalisation process.

“We are on an exciting journey to entertain people around the globe. We will continue to make bold bets to bring Spanish football fans everywhere great entertainment and to introduce our competition to more people everywhere. We are only just getting started,” Mayo said.

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