Melbourne Knights to kick-start NordVPN’s ventures in the Australian football market

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Image credit: Melbourne Knights FC

Melbourne Knights FC have announced their latest partnership with one of the world’s leading VPN providers, NordVPN.

Established in 2012, NordVPN is a Lithuanian VPN service that aims to provide secure and private access to the internet. It works by enveloping all of your online activities in a layer of encryption and hiding information about your virtual location.

This enables users to stay invisible to hackers, your internet service provider (ISP), governmental agencies and others from looking while you’re browsing the net. NordVPN also protects data such as bank details from potential attacks.

NordVPN has partnered with many clubs in Europe – such as Rangers, Atlético Madrid and Barnsley – and now they are venturing out to clubs around Australia.

Speaking with Soccerscene, Head of Commercial Operations at Melbourne Knights FC, Ange Hrastov, and NordVPN Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Ian Wheller, discuss the early discussions between them, the main outcomes from this partnership and potential collaborations between the pair in the future.

What were the early discussions like between NordVPN and the Melbourne Knights?

Ange Hrastov: NordVPN reached out to us and sent the Club an email, just asking whether we were interested in partnership opportunities with NordVPN.

It was right in the middle of all our other sponsors and at the time we were doing our season launch. We got back to NordVPN and said we’re always open to partnership opportunities as we’ve done with others.

We also asked them for a little bit of clarity on what they wanted and what the opportunity represented.

So that’s when I got a hold of Ian and both of us had a chat and he explained a couple of ways you can go; you can get a percentage of each subscription that they get, or we can get a flat fee. So, we chose the flat fee with them and that’s how it was.

As a Club, we’re just looking for opportunities to expand our network and our business partner base. We also saw it as an opportunity to be able to offer to our members, particularly our younger ones, who are more tech savvy and something that could benefit them in conjunction with being associated with the Club.

Ian Wheller: NordVPN reached out directly to Melbourne Knights. Australia is a relatively mature market for NordVPN, but local sports clubs are an area where we’ve seen great success in European markets that we want to try and replicate here.

We’ve had success with top-tier clubs such as Rangers FC and Barnsley FC, all the way down to the lower leagues, showcasing growth opportunities.

What were the main outcomes for both parties in this partnership?

Ange Hrastov: From our perspective at Melbourne Knights, our sponsor base and our business partner base have been pretty much the same businesses, and that’s been the case for many years now.

I came into it saying that we actually do need to start to expand our business partner network. We were looking for business partners that could also contribute in terms of their business experience, knowledge and acumen towards the future success of our club as much as any financial benefit we obtain from such partnerships.

It’s not just about the dollars, we wanted to see how the two businesses could coexist and work together. One of the things that they did before we made any decisions to partner with NordVPN is they pointed us in the direction of what they’ve been doing in the UK with football clubs.

It was Ipswich Town that they have a partnership with over in the UK in the Championship, and I looked at the website and it appeared a good fit. They seem to have a healthy partnership and relationship with Ipswich Town, and we thought why not give it a crack?

This is an opportunity that takes us into areas that we haven’t worked with before and to partner with someone where we give back to our members, it is a partnership where our members can tangibly gain from it.

Ian Wheller: Due to our successful partnerships in Europe with football teams, we’ve decided to follow a similar trend in Australia due to the closely aligned love for the game. Bringing it back to Melbourne Knights specifically, we purposely targeted the lower leagues to begin with to understand growth appetite and partnering with the Melbourne Knights is a great way for us to support the local community.

We are looking to grow brand awareness and subsequent customer subscriptions off the back of the Melbourne Knights sponsorship and the plan is to roll this out nationally to clubs that we see are a good fit.

Are there any future collaborations being discussed after the agreement of this partnership such as jersey and pitch sponsorships?

Ange Hrastov: At the moment, there have been very limited discussions and we’re at very early stages. We will need to see how it goes for both them and us in terms of what kind of return they get for what they’re doing.

Let’s show them what the outcome can be and how successful it can be and from that point, then we can start talking about further opportunities that we can look at with NordVPN.

Let’s walk first, then once we’ve established a relationship, we’ll start running later.

Ian Wheller: We are starting light when it comes to sponsorships across Australia. Both pitch and jersey sponsorship are positive for the future, our current approach will allow us to test different strategies.

Due to this partnership between the Melbourne Knights and NordVPN, fans have been given an exclusive offer when they sign up with NordVPN. The offer is a 72% discount off monthly plans and a Saily eSim for those who are planning to go overseas.

For more information, visit the article about the partnership on the Melbourne Knights website.

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South Melbourne’s Australia Cup triumph reignites promotion and relegation debate

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Image Credit: The Greek Herald

South Melbourne FC’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Adelaide United in the Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32 has reignited debate around promotion and relegation in Australian football, with Co-President Bill Papastergiadis stating the result is further proof that ambitious National Premier Leagues clubs deserve a pathway to the top tier.

The Victorian powerhouse produced one of the competition’s biggest upsets at Lakeside Stadium, overturning an early deficit to eliminate the Isuzu UTE A-League side and secure a place in the Round of 16.

While the result was celebrated as another example of the magic of the Australia Cup, Papastergiadis believes the victory carries a much broader message about the strength that exists outside Australia’s professional league.

Speaking following the win, Papastergiadis said South Melbourne’s performance demonstrated why the Australian football landscape should move towards a connected pyramid featuring promotion and relegation.

“The result was South Melbourne FC’s revenge 22 years in the making,” Papastergiadis said.

“It also demonstrates that clubs in the National Premier Leagues have the quality, professionalism and ambition to compete with A-League opposition when given the opportunity.”

For years, South Melbourne has been one of the strongest advocates for structural reform within Australian football, consistently calling for an open pyramid that rewards sporting merit rather than maintaining a closed league system.

Papastergiadis argued that Australia Cup fixtures continue to showcase the depth of talent throughout the domestic game, with NPL clubs regularly proving they can challenge and defeat professional opponents despite operating with significantly fewer resources.

He believes these performances should not simply be viewed as isolated “cupsets”, but as evidence that Australia’s football ecosystem is ready to embrace a promotion and relegation model that provides ambitious clubs with a genuine pathway to the top flight.

The result against Adelaide United adds another significant chapter to South Melbourne’s storied history. One of Australia’s most successful clubs, South Melbourne has long maintained aspirations of returning to the national stage, backed by a passionate supporter base, strong infrastructure and a proud footballing tradition.

For Papastergiadis, victories such as Thursday night’s reinforce the argument that clubs should earn opportunities through performances on the pitch.

“The Australia Cup continues to show what’s possible when clubs from different levels of the football pyramid compete against one another,” he said.

“Our football should be built on opportunity and merit. Clubs that perform consistently and invest in their communities should have the chance to progress to the highest level.”

South Melbourne will now turn its attention to the Round of 16, where it will look to continue its impressive cup run.

Beyond the result itself, however, the victory has once again fuelled discussion around the future of Australia’s football structure and whether the growing strength of clubs outside the A-League should accelerate the push towards a fully connected national competition.

South Melbourne Hellas Strengthens Its Future with Three Key Board Appointments

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Image Credit: South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne Hellas has taken another significant step in shaping its future, announcing the appointment of three highly accomplished professionals to its Board of Directors as the club continues to strengthen its leadership both on and off the field.

The Hon. Philip Dalidakis, John Karantzis and Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris join the club at an important stage, bringing expertise across government, law, healthcare and corporate governance as South Melbourne continues to pursue its long-term ambitions.

Few football clubs in Australia can match South Melbourne’s proud history, but the club’s focus is firmly on the future. The latest appointments reflect a deliberate commitment to building a Board with the experience and strategic capability required to support sustained growth and success.

Dalidakis brings extensive experience across government, business and public policy. A former Victorian Cabinet Minister and C-suite executive, he is the Managing Partner of Orizontas and currently represents Australia on the APEC Business Advisory Council. He also holds board positions across the life sciences, defence and social impact sectors, and has chaired audit and risk committees across a range of organisations.

Karantzis is a Partner and Head of Personal Injury Law and Litigation at Carbone Lawyers, with more than 28 years of experience. Accredited as a Specialist in Personal Injury Law by the Law Institute of Victoria, he has also been recognised by Doyle’s Guide as one of Victoria’s leading plaintiff lawyers and litigators.

Pirpiris is an internationally recognised orthopaedic surgeon, academic and healthcare leader. A consultant surgeon at Epworth and Cabrini Hospitals, he specialises in robotic hip and knee replacement, arthritis management and sports injury care, and is a Fellow of both the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Orthopaedic Association.

Co-Presidents Bill Papastergiadis and Andrew Mesourouni said the appointments were about more than adding credentials to the Board.
“Philip, Marinis and John are exactly the kind of people South Melbourne Hellas needs at Board level right now,” they said.
“Each brings exceptional expertise in their respective fields, but just as importantly, they understand what this club represents. Their connection to South Melbourne’s values, history and community makes them a natural fit as we continue building for the future.”

The appointments form part of an ongoing renewal of the club’s leadership, reinforcing South Melbourne’s commitment to strong governance as it builds on its proud football tradition.

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