Matildas partner with Cadbury until 2022

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FFA have announced that Cadbury will be an official partner of the Matildas until 2022.

Cadbury’s partnership with the FFA and the Matildas will include a soon to be featured National Women in Sport initiative, which will showcase Australian female athletes from four sports sharing their stories and advocating for the continued development of women’s sport.

The initiative by the confectionary company aims to encourage and inspire young females to continue to participate in sports across Australia.

FFA CEO James Johnson welcomed Cadbury’s partnership with the organisation, in what is a boost for football in financially difficult times.

“The Westfield Matildas are a contemporary and very well recognised brand. We are delighted to have entered into a positive, two-year partnership and be associated with Cadbury,” he said.

“Cadbury’s National Women in Sport initiative, which aims to encourage girls and women to ‘Get In The Game’ by maintaining or commencing their involvement with sport by promoting positive role models, aligns well with the broader ethos of the Westfield Matildas and our objectives at FFA to lead the growth of football with women and girls.

“We believe that women’s football represents the biggest opportunity of growth for Australian football and in the XI Principles for the future of Australian football discussion paper we outline FFA’s ambition for Australia to become the centre of women’s football in Asia-Pacific. The work that we will be doing with Cadbury over the next two years supports our objectives to accelerate and retain the participation of women and girls and build on the success of the Westfield Matildas.

“The Westfield Matildas have a huge few years ahead of them, with numerous major international tournaments in the pipeline. It is great that Cadbury will be a part of the team’s journey, which is set to captivate the country,” he concluded.

Experienced Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy has been named as an ambassador for Cadbury, as a part of the two-year partnership.

“We’re delighted to have Cadbury on board to support the Westfield Matildas and the growth of our sport,” Kennedy said.

“With the help of Cadbury, women’s football can continue to grow on the world stage and young girls can fulfil their dream of becoming a Westfield Matilda, or simply just have fun on the field with friends.”

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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.

Dandenong Thunder to enjoy $700,000 LED lighting upgrade at George Andrews Reserve

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Dandenong Thunder lighting upgrade
Image via Star Journal

Greater Dandenong Council and Dandenong Thunder have recently confirmed that works have commenced for new powerful lighting towers to be built at George Andrews Reserve.

The upgrade will cost $700,000 and is being jointly funded by Greater Dandenong Council ($500,000) and the State Government ($200,000) with a plan to improve the ground’s overall quality for both training and matches. They formerly had 200-lux LED towers and they will be replaced by 500-lux towers.

For the Greater Dandenong local council, the focus was to improve the facility for the community to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits through the increased amount of playable hours at the reserve.

Importantly, the project ensures that the Thunder have a ground that is up to professional competition and broadcast standards which means they can broadcast and host games that are viewed by a national audience, a huge step forward for the NPL Victoria club.

This broadcast upgrade also opens up the possibility to expand to national matches involving the Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City A-League women’s teams and an even more ambitious goal of hosting a Matildas game. The ground can easily hold 5000 people and the lighting and broadcasting standards will be fantastic after this upgrade.

Dandenong Thunder shared the positive implications this light upgrade has for the club.

“The new lights mean the club will be able to host a number of games, not only that but it’s a step forward to the clubs ambition to be part of the NSD (national second division),” a club spokesperson told Soccerscene.

“The support from local council has been nothing but fantastic, Dandenong want to be a sporting hub for the south east suburbs.

“With the FA cup we have seen A-League clubs play at local level clubs, having these new high powered lights we will be able to broadcast at a higher quality, no more yellow light broadcast.”

This news presents an exciting future for Dandenong Thunder and the matches played at George Andrews Reserve. The quality of training, matches and broadcasts has improved tenfold and it matches the size of the NPL Victoria side that have big ambitions.

CPKC and Kansas City Current’s major stadium naming rights deal a win for women’s sport

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CPKC Stadium design
Image via CPKC

The world’s first professional female-football dedicated stadium – home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current – will be known as CPKC Stadium, after an historic naming rights deal was agreed with the North American rail network company.

Formed as a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern rail networks in July this year, CPKC represents the first trans-North American rail network between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

CPKC has been a leading investor for women’s sports in the state of Kansas, and CPKC President & CEO, Keith Creel, was proud to announce the stadium naming rights deal.

“We are incredibly proud to sponsor the Kansas City Current and support this history-making project here in the city that is at the heart of our North American rail network,” Creel said via press release.

“CPKC has been a long-time champion of women’s sports and of investing in our communities. This stadium and this partnership with the Current will build on that legacy as together we write a new chapter here in Kansas City.”

CPKC will also hold naming rights to the stadium’s outdoor space for fans, which will be known as CPKC Plaza. This area provides entertainment for all CPKC Stadium attendees, including the KC Current’s official merchandise store.

It is hoped that the naming rights deal will kickstart further investment in women’s football across the region, which has been the cornerstone of the KC Current’s existence according to co-founders and owners, Angie and Chris Long.

“Our [KC Current & CPKC] organisations share a commitment to strive for excellence, invest heavily in our communities and raise the bar with global influence. We are extremely excited to work with CPKC on this historic agreement and know our partnership will create a long-standing positive impact!”

Further to its substantial investment in women’s football, CPKC’s establishment of a direct line between Canada, the United States and Mexico is expected to have substantial benefits for football supporters attending the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup.

Presently, though, the stadium naming rights deal demonstrates CPKC’s intention to be a key investor in women’s football across Kansas and North America.

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