NNSWF provides more than $5 million for clubs with infrastructure funding

Avatar
NNSWF Funding
Image credit: Northern NSW Football

Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) has assisted its clubs to receive more than $1.3 million, credit to the NSW Government’s Female Friendly Community Sport Facilities and Lighting Upgrades grant program.

There have been seven projects selected to have been given funding, including:

  • Hallidays Point Sports Club, Black Head Sports Field ($181,743)
  • New Lambton FC, Novocastrian ($242,300)
  • South Lismore Celtic FC, Caniaba Street Reserve ($300,658)
  • Stockton Junior FC, Corroba Oval, Stockton ($88,000)
  • Taree Wildcats FC, Omaru Park, Taree ($205, 180)
  • Lake Macquarie City Council, Evans Park, Cardiff ($275,000)
  • Port Stephens Council, Tomaree Sports Complex ($79,475)

The project has seen the NSW State Government dedicate up to $25 million in financing to bring to life the sport facilities by supplying new, and rebuilding existing sport facility bathrooms and changing rooms.

Investing will also guide the delivery of upgraded lighting that will allow more women and girls to train and take part in a safe and inclusive sporting environment.

NNSWF Community Football Manager Ross Hicks said via press release:

“The Taree Wildcats FC and South Lismore Celtic FC applications had assistance from NNSWF and our grant writing consultant, it was fantastic to see other clubs who l had consultation with and advised were also with their applications.”

NNSWF has also benefited from other grants – the club facilities were awarded more than $3.8 million in recognition of the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund.

12 NNSWF operations designated to receive the necessary funding includes:

  • Alstonville & District FC, Crawford Park (230,505)
  • Byron Bay FC, Byron Bay Recreation Grounds ($356,280)
  • Bellbird FC (Cessnock City Council), Carmichael Park, Bellbird ($138,000)
  • Corindi Red Rock SAISC, Corindi Sports Fields, ($205,379)
  • Clarence Town FC (Dungog Shire Council), Clarence Town Sporting Reserve ($275,000)
  • Gresford Vacy FC (Dungog Shire Council), Paterson Sports Ground, ($216,797)
  • Valentine FC (Lake Macquarie City Council), Croudace Bay Sports Complex ($800,837)
  • Quirindi FC (Liverpool Plains Shire Council), Longfield Oval ($685,200)
  • Muswellbrook FC (Muswellbrook Shire Council), Victoria Park ($100,000)
  • Pacific Palms FC (Pacific Palms Community Association), Pacific Palms Sport Fields ($288,399)
  • Medowie FC (Port Stephens Council), Yulong Oval ($399,500)
  • Seaham Bowthorne FC (Port Stephens Council), Bowthorne Park ($126,632)

The Stronger Country Communities Fund goal is to increase the well-being of communities in the regional areas by providing upgraded social and sporting infrastructure or local programs.

Overall, this investment is $160 million by the state government, including up to $50 million for projects provided by qualified community organisations.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
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.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Avatar
Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend