Newcastle Jets extend relationship with major club sponsor

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Newcastle Jets have announced a key extension with Port of Newcastle as a Major Partner for the following season, while they launched their 2023 Australia Cup jersey.

This will become the third year of the partnership, one which Port of Newcastle have featured previously on the Jets A-League Men’s home jersey, as well as both home and away kits for the A-League Women’s team.

Port of Newcastle is Australia’s deep water global gateway, the largest on the nation’s East Coast. It exists to build Australia’s prosperity with responsible, integrated and innovative supply chain solutions.

Port of Newcastle has many functions which include trade and port development, maintenance of major port assets, vessel scheduling, and wharf and berth services.

The Port has been in Newcastle for over 200 years and has become a critical asset of the region, making the partnership with the local Jets a congruent one.

Newcastle Jets Executive Chairman Shane Mattiske expressed his pleasure working with The Port of Newcastle.

“We’re really pleased to be continuing our partnership with the Port of Newcastle. It’s really important for us as a club to have a strong connection with an organisation that is a major part of the economy in this region,” he said via press release.

“It’s great to see the Port make such strong steps forward in the growth of their business with a move towards the new container terminal and the announcement of the clean energy precinct yesterday.

“I know the team looks forward to stepping out on Monday night in the new Australia Cup jersey with the Port of Newcastle logo proudly displayed on their chest.

“We’ve responded to the positive feedback from Members from our warm-up jersey from last season. We’re excited to launch an exciting new design for our warm-up jersey this season along with our new jerseys for the 2023/24 A-League season.”

As major partner of the Newcastle Jets for the past two seasons, Port of Newcastle has demonstrated their commitment to sporting communities across Newcastle, the Hunter Region and Northern NSW which shows the shared values between both parties.

This partnership continues to be a successful one for the Jets and this extension with The Port of Newcastle for a third season seems to be an easy decision as they try to progress up the table in the A-League Men’s competition.

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Off the Pitch Podcast: Manny Spanoudakis on Cisco Systems

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In episode seven of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch podcast, St George City FA Head Coach and Regional General Manager at Cisco Manny Spanoudakis joins the show to talk about his role at Cisco, as well as his experience and philosophy in coaching.

As the Regional General Manager for the Sports & Entertainment Solutions Group at Cisco, Spanoudakis is responsible for developing, leading and executing strategy in the Asia Pacific, Japan and China region.

Cisco is a global tech leader that’s helping organisations stay connected and secure in today’s AI-driven world.

For over 40 years, Cisco has played a key role in safely connecting people and businesses around the globe.

Spanoudakis spoke about his experience working on a range of stadiums and venues across Australia as a part of his role at the company.

“I guess if we just focus on the Australian market, there’s been an abundance of projects we’ve been very fortunate to have great success with,” he said on the podcast.

“If I start in Perth, I guess, and work my way east off the stadium is a major project, then we’re just doing a major refresh there after the original opening in 2018, Adelaide Oval, another major customer of ours.

“The Melbourne Cricket Ground just underwent significant and is still undergoing significant technology upgrades, it’s a project and a customer we’ve worked on for well over a decade.

“Marvel Stadium, the Melbourne Olympic Park precinct, the VRC in Flemington, Kardinia Park and GMHBA Stadium and Melbourne Racing Club, so there’s a very strong, we have a very strong customer base in Melbourne.”

Although his role as Regional General Manager at Cisco keeps him busy, Spanoudakis still finds time to pursue coaching and currently serves as the head coach at St George City FA.

Spanoudakis reflected on his early start in coaching—once the youngest coach in the league—and explained how his philosophy was deeply influenced by his upbringing and his father’s passion for football.

“When I transitioned into coaching, I was still relatively young,” he continued to say.

“It’s funny because I was talking to someone the other day that when I started coaching first grade in the NPL, NPL 1, I guess, or whatever the equivalent is in Victoria, the NPL, I was the youngest coach in the league in 2001 and now I think I’m the oldest coach in the league.

“But my coaching philosophy and my principles were very much shaped by my upbringing.

“I listened to Ange and people of my generation talk about the influence parents and fathers had and my dad was a footballer, was a very, very knowledgeable student of the game, so that shaped my upbringing.”

To learn more about his role at Cisco, listen to the full interview with Manny Spanoudakis on episode seven of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast – available on all major podcasting apps.

AFC Youth Online Session Champions Emotional Wellbeing

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The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the success of Asian teams with the delivery of the AFC Youth Online Session 2025, held on Thursday.

Nearly 120 participants from 41 Member Associations (MAs) took part in the session, which kicked off with an update on the highly regarded AFC Elite Youth Scheme—currently endorsed by 27 member nations.

Chaired by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, the virtual session delved into two key focus areas: supporting academies and youth coaches in developing and managing talented young footballers, and strengthening elite youth development programs across the region.

Following Australia’s victory at the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 earlier this year, the session also included a special discussion with Trevor Morgan, Head Coach of the championship-winning squad. Morgan offered valuable insights into the team’s journey to success, touching on everything from his coaching philosophy to the preparation and planning that led up to the tournament.

“My mantra is always to instill a mentality among youngsters where they’re not scared to make positive mistakes and not be punished for it,” he said via press release.

“We always encourage the players to play an open game and be unpredictable, which worked out well for Australia as the team scored in a variety of ways and did not just depend on set pieces.”

With the Young Socceroos also taking out the tournament’s Fair Play Award, Morgan spoke further on key topics such as player discipline, building team unity, adapting communication to better connect with younger players, and managing the emotional pressures of high-stakes competition.

Morgan’s session paved the way for the next speaker, Aspire Academy’s Maria Ruiz de Ona, who emphasised the importance of youth coaches developing emotional intelligence, empathy, and effective communication skills.

Building on these points, the Qatar Football Association’s Fahad Abdulla Al Zarraa stressed the importance of embedding emotional intelligence into coach education programs to foster stronger, more positive player-coach relationships. The evening concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where participants actively shared questions and reflections.

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