Members of Australia’s football family honoured for Queen’s Birthday

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OAM Recipients

This year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List saw 1190 exemplary Australians recognised for their outstanding contributions, with four significant figures of Australian football receiving Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) merits.

Former Socceroo star Robbie Slater, former Sutherland Sharks President George Hurley, Football Australia board member Joseph Carrozzi and former Marconi Stallions star Eddie Krncevic were each awarded OAM’s.

Slater, originally born in Lancashire, England, came to Australia and made a name for himself after kicking off his footballing career with St George Saints and Sydney Croatia before moving abroad to take on an incredible journey through the top tier leagues in European football.

The 56-year-old played in Belgium, France and England, where his tenure with the infamous Blackburn Rovers saw him become an English Premier League Champion in the 1994/95 season. In addition, Slater represented the Socceroos 44 times and upon his retirement became an analyst and commentator for Fox Sports.

Football NSW also have a medal in Slater’s honour with every National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Grand Final Man of the Match award named after him.

The 84-year-old Hurley, a former complex manager at Seymour Shaw Park, coached local teams Engadine, Heathcote, Miranda and Kirrawee in the Sutherland Shire Football Association.

A veritable ‘football man’ at heart, the former Sutherland Shire Councillor has served on more than 30 committees and devoted his entire time to the world game at both Community and NPL level.

Hurley, a life member at the Sutherland Sharks Football club since 1959, played football himself against Fiji in front of 4000 spectators at Seymour Shaw in 1969. Moreover, Hurley served various positions at the Sharks as President and is currently Vice-President and General Manager of the club in addition to founding an education and training scholarship which saw young footballers in the Shire area head overseas.

A major lover of football and significant contributor to the development of the Western Sydney region, Carrozzi was recognised for his significant service to business and to the community through multicultural and not-for-profit organisations.

Krncevic, a lifetime servant of football, was recognised for his undivided loyalty and dedication to the world game. He was the first Australian to play in Europe and the first Australian-born player to be top goal scorer for a European league at Anderlecht – Belgian First Division A in the 1988/89 season.

The 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund to cater for participation boom

Staff Writer
2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund
Image via Pxhere

The Victorian Government’s 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund is a state-wide investment, open until December 13, 2023.

This fund was created to adapt to the increasing need for infrastructure that is required for regular active sport and recreation.

Utilising three streams, sports clubs, facility managers and community organisations will all benefit from the following grants:

  • Community Facilities – up to $300,000
  • Community Sports Lighting – up to $250,000
  • Planning – up to $40,000

Led by Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence, the creation of infrastructure will be made possible by planners, architects, engineers, project managers,
builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, facility managers and operational staff as part on the construction process. In turn, this has a direct link back to the local economy and offers hundreds of jobs.

For sporting & recreation clubs, sporting associations & leagues, educational institutions, not-for-profit community organisations, businesses and individuals looking to apply for the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, an important note is that they cannot do so directly. Instead, they will coordinate this with Local Government Authorities and the Alpine Resorts Victoria who will apply on their behalf.

Applications close at 5pm on Wednesday December 13 2023 – with successful candidates of the 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund announced from April 2024.

For full information and resources, you can view those here.

Football Queensland remain with Kappa for five more seasons until 2028

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Football Queensland & Kappa partnership extension
Image credit: Football Queensland

Football Queensland have announced a five-year partnership extension with iconic international sports brand Kappa as its official apparel partner from 2024.

This relationship between the two parties has been very strong since they first partnered all the way back in 2017 and reinforces the support for football in Queensland that the brand has had.

Kappa has provided quality garments for some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Manchester City, Juventus, AC Milan and the Italian National team.

It’s a brand that was established in 1916 in Turin and eventually in 1978 they rebranded themselves to branch out as a sportwear brand where they focused purely on football-related products and designs.

For Football Queensland, they currently produce and provide quality on and off-field apparel for all Queensland State Representative teams including the state’s futsal representative squads. Kappa also provide on-field apparel for the game’s referees on the FQ website.

They also helped sponsor and start up the Kappa Women’s Super Cup and Kappa Pro Series tournaments that debuted in late 2021 and 2022 respectively for clubs to participate in across the state.

FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci was extremely pleased to announce this partnership extension following Kappa’s amazing support.

“Football Queensland is incredibly excited to announce Kappa as our official apparel partner for the next five years following a competitive tender process which saw us receive 20 expressions of interest and 15 submissions of an extremely high quality,” Cavallucci said via Football Queensland press release.

“In their seven years as a Football Queensland partner, Kappa has provided fantastic support to Football Queensland, our clubs and the wider football community thanks to their quality of apparel, ability to deliver on their promises and the team’s unwavering commitment to customer service.

“We’ve built a wonderful working relationship with the team at Kappa thanks to their willingness to go above and beyond to deliver outcomes for our organisation and our game, and we’re delighted to continue working in partnership with them from next year.”

Kappa Australia Director Ze’ev Bogaty shared the same sentiment for the great relationship the two parties have created.

“Kappa is a strong supporter of football in Queensland and has been proud to invest in the game since the partnership with Football Queensland began in 2017,” Bogaty mentioned in the FQ press release.

“Some highlights of the partnership have included the development of the teal shirt for first year referees, witnessing Queensland state sides dominate on the national stage in Kappa kit, and the launch of the Kappa Women’s Super Cup and Kappa Pro Series tournaments.

“As we embark on another five years as the state’s official apparel partner and continue our close working relationship with Football Queensland, we look forward to contributing even more to the growth and success of football across the state.”

There is a shared goal of improving the grassroots game in Queensland from both parties and the track record of Kappa’s immense investment over the past seven years has shown that this extension will do wonders for Queensland football.

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