Pepsi MAX Named Founding Partner of Hill Dickinson Stadium

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Everton FC has confirmed Pepsi MAX  as the Founding Partner of Hill Dickinson Stadium in a five-year partnership.

The strategic deal establishes Pepsi MAX as the club’s Official Soft Drink Supplier, permitting PepsiCo products to be stocked in the various retail points of the stadium, as well as company branding on venue assets like LED boards and digital menus.

Pepsi MAX and PepsiCo have a long history in sports sponsorships around the world, with an estimated AUD 460.99 million spent on sponsorships in the United States in 2023.

Last year, PepsiCo signed a 10-year agreement with the UEFA Champions League, incorporating the brand’s involvement in event sponsorships, advertisement, and culinary promotions using PepsiCo products.

The Hill Dickinson Stadium opened its doors at the start of the season after four years of construction, costing approximately AUD 1.44 million to build in the location of Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool, adjacent of the River Mersey.

The stadium is named after the Liverpool-based law firm of the same name who are rumoured to be paying AUD 18 million per year for 10 years after Everton employed US-based sales agency, Elevate, to oversee the sponsor naming rights.

Chief Partnership Officer at Everton, Mark Rollings mentioned teaming up with the globally renowned organisation is a huge endorsement for the stadium and home of Everton FC.

“Pepsi MAX is a brand recognised and enjoyed by millions of people around the world, and we are excited to work with them to enhance the matchday experience for our fans and bring fresh energy to our new stadium,” he said via Club Statement.

UK Head of Sports Partnership at Pepsi Co, John Savage said the momentum of the football club within Hill Dickinson Stadium has been inspiring.

“This partnership with Everton Football Club’s stadium marks a moment of continued commitment in elevating the fan experience in football,” he said via Club Statement.

“We look forward to seeing the vibrant atmosphere our collaboration will bring to Hill Dickinson Stadium, creating some unforgettable moments for supporters and building on the Club’s rich heritage.”

Hill Dickinson Stadium is set to be one of the 10 stadiums to host the UEFA Euro 2028.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Launched in 2024, the research project recently welcomed two US-based organisations: the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

 

About Project ACL

Led by FIFPRO, PFA England, Nike and Leeds Beckett University, Project ACL aims to research ACL injuries and understand more about multifactorial risk factors.

After piloting in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Project ACL will expand to the NWSL in the US, reflecting the global importance of the project’s research and outcome.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and NWSL to Project ACL,” said Director of Women’s Football at FIFPRO, Dr. Alex Culvin, via official press release.

“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organisers and stakeholdersaround the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”

Interviews with over 30 players and team surveys across all 12 WSL clubs provided the project’s research team with valuable information about current prevention strategies and available resources.

Furthermore, the project tracks player workload and busy schedule periods during the season through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool, therefore gaining insights into the link between scheduling and injury risks.

 

Looking to the data

Project ACL’s partnerships with the WSL – and now the NWSL – are immensely valuable for the future of player welfare in women’s football.

Although ACL injuries affect both male and female athletes, they are twice as likely to occur in women than men. However, according to the NWSL, as little as 8% of sports science research focuses on female athletes.

In Australia, several CommBank Matildas suffered ACL injuries in recent years: Sam Kerr was sidelined from January 2024 to September 2025, Ellie Carpenter for 8 months after suffering the injury while playing for Olympique Lyonnais, and Holly McNamara came back from three ACL’s aged 15, 18 and 20.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2025/26 ALW season saw several ACL incidents, including four in just two weeks.

 

Research, prevent, protect

Injury prevention and research are vital to sport – whether professional or amateur.

But when the numbers are so shocking – and incidents are so common – governing bodies must remember that player welfare comes above all else. Research can inform prevention strategies. Prevention means players can enjoy the game they love.

The work of Project ACL, continuing until 2027, will hopefully protect countless players across women’s football from suffering long-term or recurring injuries.

South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

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