New directors welcomed at Sport NSW Annual General Meeting

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Sport NSW
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Sport NSW hosted its Industry Forum and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier this month in-person for the first time since the pandemic started – where two new directors, with an additional returning director, were elected to the board of Sport NSW.

Among the changes to Sport NSW include Erin Lorenzini, Head of Cricket Operations, Government Relations and Infrastructure at Cricket NSW, as well as Maria Nordstrom, Chief Executive Officer at Basketball NSW, along with the current Finance Director, David Sexton, who get the ball rolling in their two-year contracts.

In the meantime, Sport NSW also bid adieu to the former Chairperson, Carolyn Campbell, who had overseen seven successful years as Director, including four as a Chair. At the AGM, Life Membership of Sport NSW was granted to her to acknowledge her monumental contribution to the sector throughout the two stints as a director amounting to 12 years of service.

Sport NSW is an independent not-for-profit organisation for the sport in the state, representing all sporting companies in NSW as The Voice of Sport to elevate and be responsive for any matters that effect every level of sport all around the state, also furthering their development in physical activities in New South Wales.

The strategies of Sport NSW are built on three key pillars, mainly being Advocacy, Recognition and Networking, and Sport Development and Collaboration.

Under the Advocacy program, the not-for-profit organisation represents more than 80 State Sporting Organisations, and also Disability State Sporting Organisations, Local Councils, sports industry bodies, local clubs and sports businesses. Sport NSW support instances for all sport regarding all levels of government, furthermore, other agencies in the interests of the entire division in the state.

As for the Recognition and Networking, it involves celebrating the sporting achievements of athletes by the local community, along with the administrators, officials, coaches and volunteers, also presenting the NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony, together with the annual NSW Sports Awards and NSW Hall of Champions Induction, and the Community Sports Awards along with other professional and social contacts.

For the final pillar which is Sport Development and Collaboration, a key objective of Sport NSW’s blueprint is working with members in building and sharing the knowledge through guidance and showcasing the best practices of the industry.

The existing partners of Sport NSW include but are not limited to the Office of Sport and NSW Communities and Justice in the NSW Government divisions, along with the University of NSW, sports law experts Lander and Rogers, and children’s charity, Variety, helping thousands of kids who have disabilities, chronic illnesses or facing financial difficulties to allowing to be a better version of themselves.

Sport NSW can add its vision of being the Voice of Sport to the existing clubs and organisations in Victoria, especially for the clubs advocating to be in the second division of the A-League, and also providing value for the diligent work of the volunteers throughout the season and everyone else involved at the club, and the loyal supporters who cheer on their club week in, week out.

To find more information about Sport NSW, click here.

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Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

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The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
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Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

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