Forever remembering Dylan Tombides and his story

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Image via DT38 Foundation website

Recently it was the commemoration of a decade since Dylan Tombides’ passing, and the DT38 Foundation persists in honouring his legacy by their ongoing efforts within the football community.

In 2011, Tombides received a diagnosis of testicular cancer following a routine drug test during the Under 17 FIFA World Cup, which revealed a tumour in one of his testicles. Despite a courageous three year battle against the illness, he tragically succumbed at the age of 20 on April 18, 2014, surrounded by his loved ones.

Following his unfortunate passing, the DT38 Foundation was established in his honour, dedicated to promoting awareness of testicular cancer with the aim of saving lives.

Head of Media and Operations at DT38 Foundation, Donna Giuffre, said via press release:

“Our goal at DT38 is not only to raise awareness about testicular cancer but also to foster a culture of proactive health management within the community,” she said to The PFA.

“By partnering with clubs and supporters across the A-League and globally we aim to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young men, promoting early detection, and ultimately honouring Dylan’s legacy.”

The Foundation aims to bring together supporters, athletes, and localities, persisting in disseminating the importance of awareness and solidarity for individuals impacted by testicular cancer. Their endeavour is to leave a meaningful imprint in the ongoing battle against this disease.

Their core message emphasizes the urgency of timely action, underlining the importance of education for men, DT38 tirelessly strives to ensure that young men and their families are well-informed about the significance of regular self-examination and prompt medical attention upon detecting any irregularities.

Recently, the organisation has forged a partnership with their second A-League club, Brisbane Roar, while Perth Glory, the hometown team, remains their primary charity collaborator.

The clash between Brisbane and Newcastle Jets earlier this month marking the inaugural charity awareness matchday since the Roar joined forces with the foundation as a partner.

This marks the third triumphant charity awareness matchday, following Perth Glory’s encounter with Brisbane earlier this season and West Ham’s Premier League match against Fulham at the Olympic Stadium. Supporters from both sides paid tribute to Tombides’ legacy with a round of applause during the 38th minute.

These occasions have not only provided a stage to promote awareness regarding testicular cancer and the significance of early detection but have also served as a homage to Tombides’ dedication to football and his brave fight against cancer.

Tombides had a six-year tenure with the Hammers, having enrolled in their academy in 2008. He earned his debut for the first team in September 2012. Following his passing, the club retired his number 38 jersey, and West Ham honoured him during a match against Crystal Palace.

On that day, Mile Jedinak, a former Socceroo and patron of the DT38 Foundation, participated in the match and successfully scored a penalty, he reflects on that day to The PFA.

“The game was a special moment, knowing what it was representing and the Australian football community,” he said to The PFA.

“I was a young parent then, and all I could think about at the time was wanting to offer my condolences to his family. I could do it after the game, and from that moment, I stayed in touch with them. I was aware Dylan was making waves at West Ham.

“You don’t play for a club like that if you don’t have something about you. It would’ve been nice to play against Dylan but sadly it wasn’t meant to be. He was well on his way to becoming a big star in the game.”

Introduced by The PFA and Football Australia in 2019, The Dylan Tombides Medal is bestowed upon a player chosen from the Under 17 (Joeys), Under 20 (Young Socceroos), and Under 23 teams.

The Medal is awarded to the player who best embodies the qualities of excellence, dedication, and bravery while representing Australia at the youth international level, paying tribute to the legacy of Dylan Tombides.

More information about the DT38 Foundation can be found here.

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The Spreadsheet Is Dead: Majestri’s Fix for How Clubs Actually Assess Players

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If you’ve ever sat through a club’s end-of-season review, you’ll know the drill. A coach pulls out a folder of notes, someone half-remembers what a player was like back in Round 3 and a parent quietly wonders what they actually got for their rego fees beyond a team photo. Football club platform Majestri says it has a fix for that, and it’s built directly into its Player Assessment module.

Why clubs bother assessing players in the first place

According to Majestri, clubs run player assessments for one of three reasons – usually more than one at once. Some are chasing genuine development, using the data to lift the level across their high-performance squads. Others are after a fairer way to pick teams, putting every player on the same measurable scale so selection is based on evidence rather than a coach’s gut feel about who “looks the part.” And for clubs operating under a Football Australia or state federation licence, assessments at set intervals often aren’t optional – they’re a compliance requirement, with the paperwork to prove it when asked.

Whatever the motivation, Majestri’s pitch is the same: don’t let that assessment data die in a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop.

Build your own assessment, your way

There’s no one-size-fits-all template here. The Assessment Designer lets technical directors set their own criteria, sort them into whatever categories their coaching staff already use – think core skills, possession, defending, attacking – and decide what each point on the rating scale actually means. Crucially, every criterion also gets a comment field, because a bare number rarely tells the full story of a player’s development.

The Assessment Module Builder for an NPL Juniors assessment
The Assessment Module Builder, showing an NPL Juniors assessment with a 1-10 rating scale banded from under performing through to excelling and role-specific criteria grouped into core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

Build it once and it’s reusable every time that assessment cycle comes around, so every player and every coach – is working off the same yardstick.

Something for the parents to actually take home

One of the more relatable pain points Majestri is targeting: most families never see much tangible return from a season of fees beyond a team photo. Player Assessment addresses that with report cards – colour-coded against the same scale coaches used, grouped by category with averages calculated automatically, and delivered as a PDF or an interactive web page a parent can read without needing a coaching badge themselves.

A player report card for an under-15 player
A report card for an under-15 player, colour-coded from under performing to excelling, with a score for every criterion and a group average across core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

 

Turning the numbers into something useful

The real value, though, sits in what Majestri calls the Player Analysis Lab. This is where clubs can plot a player against their team-mates or an entire age group across two categories at once, spotting clusters and outliers at a glance. Every score gets read against the group average – so a “7” actually means something in context – and clubs can report at the broad category level or drill into individual fields underneath. The results can be filtered down and exported for selection meetings or grading purposes.

The Player Analysis Lab comparing players in an under-15 and under-16 squad
The Player Analysis Lab comparing seven players across under-15 and under-16 squads, with a scatter plot, a sortable table of scores against the player average, and controls for choosing which categories and fields to report on. Source: Majestri.

The admin side nobody enjoys, made easier

Beyond the flashy analytics, there’s a practical layer built for the volunteers actually running the process:

  • Sweep monitoring – a quick view of which assessments are done and which are still outstanding, organised into defined assessment periods so progress can be tracked against peers.
  • Individual development plans – every player gets a personalised plan, and clubs can group common improvement areas to run cross-team training sessions that lift the whole club rather than just one squad.
  • Access control – coaches and technical staff can only see assessments for the teams they’re responsible for, and completed assessments are only visible to people linked to that player’s registration.
“Hard numbers to draw on when you review coaching staff and curriculum – and something tangible for the players and parents who pay the fees.” – Majestri

 

The bigger picture

Majestri frames all of this as sitting on top of the club’s own data – assessment results live on each player’s profile inside the platform rather than in a spreadsheet that walks out the door when a technical director moves on. For committees, it also means hard numbers to lean on when reviewing coaching staff or curriculum, rather than relying on anecdote.

It’s a fairly clear read on where club administration software is heading: less about digitising paperwork for its own sake, and more about making the data clubs already collect actually work for player development, team selection and compliance  without adding to the workload of the volunteers who run the show.

For more information on Majestri’s Player Assessment module, visit majestri.com.au/player-assessment.

Football Has the Audience. Does It Have the Commercial Strategy?

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Image Credit: One Nil Media

Soccerscene has launched Survey 4: Commercial Confidence in Football, calling on clubs, sponsors, governing bodies, commercial leaders and football industry professionals to assess whether the game is making the most of its enormous commercial potential.

Football has the audience, participation base and community reach to be one of Australia’s most powerful commercial platforms. But does the industry have the commercial strategy, professionalism and infrastructure required to turn that potential into sustainable growth?

That is the question at the centre of Soccerscene’s latest industry research.

The survey examines how attractive grassroots football is to potential commercial partners, what industry professionals believe is limiting football’s commercial potential, and whether clubs are presenting themselves professionally enough to sponsors.

It also explores what sponsors value most when engaging with football – from community reach and participation scale to brand alignment, values and purpose – as well as whether improved facilities could directly contribute to stronger sponsorship outcomes.

Is football fully capitalising on its commercial opportunity?

Football continues to provide brands with access to highly engaged communities across grassroots, community and elite environments. Yet the commercial landscape remains fragmented, with clubs operating with vastly different levels of resources, capability, governance, media infrastructure and commercial expertise.

Soccerscene’s survey is designed to capture the industry’s perspective on where the opportunities exist – and where football may be leaving commercial value on the table.

The research will look specifically at four key areas:

  • Commercial attractiveness – How attractive is grassroots football as a commercial partnership?
  • Commercial barriers – What is holding football back from reaching its full commercial potential?
  • Club professionalism – Are clubs presenting themselves effectively and professionally to sponsors?
  • Sponsor value – What are sponsors really looking for when they invest in football?

The survey also asks whether better facilities would have a direct impact on sponsorship outcomes, highlighting the potential relationship between infrastructure, commercial presentation and investment.

Have your say

Soccerscene is encouraging football clubs, sponsors, commercial professionals, governing bodies, administrators, media professionals and industry stakeholders to participate.

The findings will contribute to Soccerscene’s ongoing program of industry research, designed to provide a clearer picture of the challenges and opportunities facing football and the organisations operating within it.

Take the Survey: Commercial Confidence in Football

Complete the Commercial Confidence in Football Survey here

The survey will close on 30 August 2026 at midnight, with responses received before the deadline included in the final analysis.

Football has the audience. The question is whether it has the commercial strategy to match.

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