Melbourne Victory joins up with KICK to promote Esports

Avatar
KICK and Melbourne Victory
Image via KICK.com

Melbourne Victory has confirmed the addition of KICK as the new Official Esports Partner for the 2023/24 season.

KICK.com will launch ‘Victory Esports’ in a move that incorporates aspects of the E-League team and introduces exciting initiatives to allow gaming fans to engage with their platform of choice for EAFC 24 competitions.

Melbourne Victory Managing Director Caroline Carnegie spoke glowingly about having KICK as a key partner for Esports.

“We’re delighted to welcome KICK to the Victory family and launch ‘Victory Esports’ ahead of the 2023/24 season,” Carnegie said via press release.

“KICK is an exciting, new platform that has a diverse audience both in Australia and across the globe and we’re looking forward to working with KICK to not only be front and centre of our E-League campaign, but also open new audiences to Melbourne Victory.

“Esports has been a relatively untapped market in Australia and we’re looking forward to working with KICK to open their platform to our fans while introducing their users to Melbourne Victory.”

KICK Chief Marketing Officer, Akhil Sarin added that he is looking forward to entering the Australian market with a club like Victory.

“As a proud Melbourne start-up, it is a great pleasure to partner with the biggest name in Australian football. Esports is synonymous with KICK and Melbourne Victory have some exciting plans in the space which we look forward to being involved with,” he added via media release.

The deal with KICK continues a start to the season for Victory both on and off the park, after recently extending their partnership with Checkpoint Building Surveyors that now reaches its 13th year all-time.

That arrangement itself sees the Checkpoint logo displayed on both the A-League Men’s and Liberty A-League Women’s shorts this season.

Checkpoint Building Surveyors was established in 1999 and is a company that prides itself on a committed proactive approach that continues to provide a high level of service in building consultancy. The company is primarily based in Melbourne with their main office located in Southbank.

With over 30 years of consulting experience, their goal is to offer innovative and cost effective design solutions that meet client objectives. Breaking the Building Surveying service mould, they have developed a comprehensive technology based suite of products to deliver a transparent, efficient and effective outcome to their customers.

Along with other partnership extensions with NJ Lawyers and Local Brewing Co, Victory is already bouncing back nicely despite some setbacks in the previous campaign.

All these deals contribute a lot to the work that the Club does on and off the field.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Football Australia Expands Mental Skills Program for Match Officials Amid Sustained Focus on Referee Retention

Avatar
Image Credit: Football NSW

Football Australia has confirmed a second national webinar for match officials, led by sports psychologist Dr Liam Slack, extending a referee development series introduced after strong engagement with an initial session on managing match-day pressure.

The upcoming session, themed “parking with purpose,” will focus on decision-making strategies designed to help referees process on-field calls and reset attention quickly across a match that can present hundreds of individual decisions. Dr Slack, who also consults with The Football Association and the AFC Referee Academy and previously spent over a decade as a performance psychologist with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited in England, brings substantial elite-level experience to a program open to officials at every level, from grassroots to professional.

The theme builds on work Dr Slack has already delivered within Australian officiating. He recently led a session with Football Australia’s National Referee Academy on the same concept, framing the ability to consciously park a decision and refocus on the next phase of play as a trainable skill rather than an innate trait, one that separates officials who reset quickly under pressure from those who don’t. He has also addressed more than 100 Football Australia elite match officials and staff on developing a stronger match-day mentality, an indication of how embedded this psychological framework has become across the officiating pathway rather than remaining a one-off intervention.

The expansion of the webinar series reflects a broader shift in how football administrators are approaching referee attrition. Rather than treating retention purely as a recruitment or pay problem, the program signals an institutional acknowledgment that the psychological demands of officiating, particularly the compounding pressure of split-second decisions under public scrutiny, are a material factor in whether officials remain in the game.

It rests alongside other measures adopted across Australian football in recent years, including visible identification programs for junior referees and structural reviews of referee departments at state federation level, all aimed at the same underlying issue: a shrinking pool of match officials relative to demand.

Football Australia has not detailed metrics for assessing the program’s impact on referee numbers, though the recurring engagement of an internationally credentialed specialist across multiple tiers of the officiating pathway suggests sustained institutional investment in the approach.

Football Victoria elevates fan enjoyment with Streets partnership

Avatar
Image credit: Prostock-studio / Shutterstock.com

Football Victoria (FV) revealed last week a new partnership with ice cream giants, Streets. The brand will become an exclusive ice cream partner for the next three years.

 

An iconic brand for joyful experiences

As a well-known and popular ice cream brand with people all around the nation, Streets will now look to support the fan experience in Victoria through its products.

It reflects FV’s commitment to delivering a family-friendly and memorable experience for spectators. Both on and off the pitch, the organisation is striving to elevate the experience for fans and families alike.

“Football Victoria is always looking for ways to elevate the experience at The Home of The Matildas, and this partnership does exactly that,” explained FV Executive Manager of Commercial and Facilities, Chris Speldewinde.

“It’s a fantastic fit for our community and we’re looking forward to what the next three years will bring.”

Furthermore, Senior Brand Manager at Streets, Ryan Katz, emphasised the brand’s role in community sport and in creating memories beyond the action on the pitch.

“Streets is proud to join Football Victoria as its exclusive ice cream partner,” Katz said.

“There’s nothing better than enjoying a great game with a classic ice cream in-hand, and we’re excited to be part of those moments across the state.”

 

Understanding community football

Community football is all about these moments. Sunny days, the family together, and a sweet treat in-hand while supporting a local team alongside friends and neighbours.

This is why a partnership between FV and Streets is particularly important.

Not for its commercial value, but for what it tells us about both parties’ understanding of what matters to fans. From young fans to experienced matchday-goers, everyone wants to find enjoyment while watching the game.

And while the 90 minutes of action is the focus, the experience of a local matchday is truly defined by interactions with fellow supporters and smaller – but no less significant – moments of happiness during the day.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend