Hakeem al-Araibi takes up full-time role at Football Victoria

Avatar

Football Victoria (FV) and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) have announced that Hakeem Al-Araibi’s role as FV’s Community and Human Rights Advocate will now be a permanent full-time position.

Al-Araibi was released from a Thailand prison earlier this year, after being detained there for a period of more than 70 days. His story garnered attention in Australia and around the world, with former Socceroos captain Craig Foster leading the charge to bring al-Araibi home.

Read More: How Hakeem Al-Araibi’s triumphant return to Australia demonstrates the beauty of soccer

He was released from the prison in February after a worldwide campaign.

The 25-year-old returned to play for Pascoe Vale FC in March, whilst also representing FV at community football clubs, gala days and various other events in Victoria and around the country.

Al-Araibi received his Australian citizenship after his return to Australia this year.

“I am very proud and happy to be able to work in the Victorian and Australian football communities full-time to share my story. I want people to continue to play football because it’s a very important part of the community and our lives,” Mr al-Araibi said.

FV CEO Peter Filopoulos and PFA Chief Executive John Didulica claimed Hakeem’s work inspiring Victoria’s multicultural football communities was extremely successful and that it was important to put him in a full-time position in the FV setup.

“Hakeem’s story shows the true power and positive impact football can have both here and around the world. His strength and resilience make him truly an inspirational person and emerging young leader,” Mr Filopoulos said.

“We are very proud to continue to work with Football Victoria to ensure Hakeem’s ongoing employment. Hakeem’s campaign was a great demonstration of the power of the game united, so to be able to continue to work with Hakeem and our colleagues within the football family at FV is genuinely important and of great benefit to so many young players,” Mr Didulica concluded.

Previous ArticleNext Article

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

Avatar
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

Avatar
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.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend