Mount Eliza Soccer Club receive new pitch and lighting upgrades from Victorian Government

Mount Eliza Soccer Club have been the beneficiaries of a recent funding grant from the Victorian Government, with a new pitch and improved lighting to be introduced at the club’s home of Emil Madsen Reserve.

Mount Eliza was one of the eleven projects selected for the World Game Facilities Fund program in 2021, splitting an overall total of $3.8 million in funding.

President of the Mount Eliza Soccer Club, Justin Sheppard, explained to Soccerscene that the upgrades are part of a holistic plan to improve the club’s ground and amenities areas.

“We run our club out of two sites, a local secondary college which is our summer base and the reserve in Mt Eliza which is our home base with two full pitches,” he said.

“We’ve got around 500 members, so running out of the current two pitches at Emil Madsen Reserve was very difficult.

“We’ve been pushing very hard for a third pitch and a pavilion for the past 5 years. We were lucky enough to receive the recent World Game funding for that third pitch, which gives us a fully lit pitch which is fenced around and gives us one more area to play on. It’s a wonderful development.”

Sheppard stated that the main works on site are set to start by October, but the pitch has already been flattened and is “shovel ready”.

He expanded on the benefits that the upgrades will provide for the club in the short and long term.

“Firstly, it allows more kids access to training,” he stated.

“It gives us a huge amount of ability to now train more teams, run more specialised training programs and give teams the opportunity to train two times a week (only been offered one day a week in the past).

“Weekend matchdays will also just be phenomenal. All of a sudden, we will have a purpose-built soccer pitch which makes it really nice for us and gives us the chance to play more home games at our venue, as opposed to using the secondary college.

“We’re hoping it’s a 12-month facility for us. It gives us a great ability to get our members active.”

The local community will also have a chance to experience the new upgrades and use them for their own purposes.

“It’s positively affecting the wider community as well,” Sheppard said.

“When we run our training program now 70% come from our membership base but the remaining 30% come from other local clubs. This new pitch will give us the scope to go wider with that. It’s not about revenue making for the club, it’s just about getting people to play more.

“If you’re going down to the park with a kick with mates that’s one thing, but playing on a proper surface with goals set up all year round, it’s a different story. On the weekends, with no football on, there’s kids playing in the community everywhere across those pitches. We hope things like this will grow further with the upgrades.”

The club itself has grown in certain areas in the past couple years, including the development of further female teams.

“We’ve had a huge growth in the girls’ numbers, we’ve gone from four teams to eight teams this year,” Sheppard said.

“We plan on reaching ten teams next year. It’s been a massive increase; with girls we want the facilities to continue to improve and be great for them.”

The club, while grateful for the recently announced upgrades, hopes to announce the formation of a clubhouse in the coming months, which will become the club’s home at Emil Madsen Reserve.

“The pavilion is actually sitting with the local council at the moment,” Sheppard said.

“It’s been costed, is in the advanced drawings phase and almost shovel ready.

“We are now waiting for council funding on its approval, that’s sitting with our local member.

“They’re working very hard to get that through for all the sporting clubs on Emil Madsen Reserve. We haven’t got a clubroom, so this will be our first clubroom their and our home base, which is very exciting for the future.”

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Victorian LGAs receive grants for community sports facilities

Community Recovery Grants Program

The Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund (RCSIF) and the 2024-25 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSIF) are giving regional and metropolitan communities opportunities to develop their sporting facilities. The fund aims to support all abilities and women-focused infrastructure.

The RCSIF has highlighted a focus on planning, designing, and building indoor stadiums, female facilities, aquatic facilities, and communal and all-ability facilities. This plan ensures sports participation opportunities for all community members.  

The 2024-25 LSIF allows metropolitan and regional communities to receive funds to create active recreational community projects. These include sports courts, lights, play spaces, change rooms, and skate parks. 

Additional grants of $50,000 for Victorian LGAs through RCSIF to boost community participation are also available. 

The Victorian Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spencer, spoke on the investment opportunity for metropolitan and regional communities.

“By upgrading facilities and removing barriers to entry, we are making sure even more people can get involved in local sport in their own communities,” he said via press release.

“These funds are making sure all Victorians, no matter where they live, have world-class sporting facilities.”

The comprehensive initiative is a welcome investment into a sustainable community activity area, encouraging LGAs to invest in their area. A project of this magnitude is a win for the long-term development of football in Victoria. From female to accessible athletes, they are huge and deserving beneficiaries of this project fund.

RCSIF has significant financial backing from the Regional Community Sport Development Fund and the All Abilities Sports Fund. The first round of funding invested $20 million in these Victorian communities across 26 infrastructure projects. Regional development opportunities will flourish, bridging the city-country gap in Victoria. 

Regional and metropolitan communities can apply for these investment grants as round 2 is now open for applicants. RCSIF round 2 closes on the 17th of March 2025, and LSIF round 2 closes on the 17th of February 2025. 

For more information about the programs and how to apply, visit Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund.

Also for the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, click here.

Shepparton Cup 2024: The largest junior football tournament goes from strength to strength

The Shepparton Cup was conducted over the weekend, with the event being the largest weekend junior football tournament ever held in Australia.

The 3-day event was a huge overall success, with a record breaking 313 teams competing in the tournament across 21 divisions.

Matches were spread across 38 pitches at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve, Shepparton Sports City, Rumbalara and Wanganui Oval.

With around 4,000 players participating, 755 matches were played over the weekend – with finals matches concluding the event on Sunday.

“It was the biggest and smoothest tournament we’ve ever ran in our 17-year history,” Australian Football Skool (AFS) Director Rolando Navas told Soccerscene.

“There was of course really good football on show across the age groups and great sportsmanship, which was fantastic to see.

“I think the message is getting through about how important it is to provide a positive environment for kids to play sport in. It was pleasing to see everybody there, both players and parents/supporters, had a good time.”

Navas estimates that there were well over 12,500 people attending the event across both venues over the weekend, providing a giant boost to the local Shepparton area.

“You are talking about a wide range of people who are, at a minimum, staying in the city of Shepparton or close by for two nights,” he said.

“The economic impact was massive.”

Economic activity at Shepparton Cup – Image Credit: One Nil Media

Director for Sustainable Development at Greater Shepparton City Council, Geraldine Christou, further explained the greater benefits the tournament had on the local community.

“Australia’s largest junior weekend football tournament right here in Greater Shepparton showcases the strength of our community spirit and our capacity to host major events that bring joy, talent, and visitors to our region,” she stated.

“The economic benefit of this tournament is immense with an estimated $3 to $4 million generated for the region, supporting our local businesses and creating lasting memories for thousands of young athletes and their families.

The Greater Shepparton City Council’s Parks, Sport and Recreation team played a big hand in the organisation of the tournament, which included looking after the setup of pitches to the placement of goals at the venues.

Football Victoria CEO Chris Pehlivanis, who attended the tournament over the course of the weekend, was impressed with the execution of it.

“I’m proud of the whole tournament, it was an amazing opportunity to come down here to Shepparton and see lots of boys and girls playing football and playing lots of games,” he stated at the event.

“I think most kids had six, seven, eight games which is an amazing opportunity and not only that, there was amazing organisation.

“Everyone should be extremely proud of what they have achieved here this weekend…the logistics, everything was run smoothly…the referees were great and all the parents and participants were great.”

Kids at play during the Shepparton Cup – Image Credit: One Nil Media

The Shepparton Cup has continued to grow exponentially over the years, initially starting with just 30 teams in the inaugural tournament in 2007.

This year’s edition also featured a wide range of off the field activities that contributed to a carnival like atmosphere. There was live music, on stage entertainment, food trucks, a fun zone for players and families.

Navas detailed to Soccerscene that the enormity of the event was not lost on him and is investigating ways to make the competition better in the near future.

“(The growth of the event has been) overwhelming, compared to many of the previous years. It was the biggest by far this year and there was a great positivity around it.

“The plan is to not necessarily make it bigger in the future, just to tweak it and add more to it and make it a better experience for everyone.

“I’d love to be able to attract some more international teams, we are looking at that to see how we can get some of the Asian teams to come across to the event.

“This would be fantastic, as it would show the kids here how football is played in different parts of the world. The way we look at things is ‘if I was 10- or 12-years-old what would I want this tournament be?’

“That’s what drives a lot of our thinking and ultimately our initiatives. It’s important to us because if the kids have a good experience, they’re going to become better players and better people because of it.

“We’ve also received some really good information from the feedback surveys we put out, which is very beneficial in shaping the tournament suitably in future editions.”

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