New Harrison Park amenities will be a game changer

Staff Writer

The 41-year-old amenities block at Harrison Park has had a much-needed facelift, with the newly refurbished facility officially opened today by Parkes Shire Mayor Cr Ken Keith OAM, Councillors and representative from the Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association.

Harrison Park is home to the Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association and is one of the premier soccer fields in the Central West. However, the amenities were in desperate need of refurbishment.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said “these upgrades will certainly be a game changer for local soccer. There are more than 500 registered players, as well as spectators and family members who regularly use these facilities. The grounds are also used by Parkes and District Cricket Association, so the benefits will be shared around the community.”

“The new amenities will improve safety, hygiene and accessibility, and provide Parkes with the necessary infrastructure to host regional and state championships,” Cr Keith said, “this will benefit our local sporting groups, as well as the local economy.”

The new facility features two spacious change rooms, eight additional toilets, and additional facilities for disabled/ambulant access. The change rooms provide direct access to shower facilities, which can be closed to the public in when required.

The new amenities block has been designed for maximum ventilation while still being sheltered from the weather, and also features a new referee room, and accessible parent change room. Energy and water efficiencies include timed taps and bubbler, LED lighting on timed sensors, and drinking bottle refill stations.

The works were managed by Parkes Shire Council’s Building and Projects Officer Bart Ingram and delivered by local building contractor Rodney Barnes.

Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association’s President, Wayne Osborne said “the new facilities will give Parkes a competitive edge when bidding to host future sporting events.”

“We are looking to apply for some rounds of the Western Youth League, and following that State titles. Councils are really investing in the playing surfaces and sealing work on the car parks, so we will end up with a premier product,” Mr Osborne continued.

“It’s great for the players, and great for the town.”

Cr Ken Keith said that the upgrades really were a team effort.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the NSW Government and Football NSW for their generous support which made these upgrades possible,” he said.

The works were funded by the NSW Government, Football NSW and Northern NSW Football and proudly co-funded by Parkes Shire Council and the Parkes and District Amateur Soccer Association.

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

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Image credit: BBC

The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s influence and impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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