Steadfast Group back again for the Mariners in Liberty A-League

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Central Coast Mariners and Steadfast Group
Image credit: Central Coast Mariners

Central Coast Mariners have extended their current partnership with Steadfast Group to support the return of the Mariners’ Women’s A-League team this season.

This expansion means that for the 2023/24 season, Steadfast Group will have their logo planted on the back of every Central Coast Mariners A-League Women’s jersey.

Steadfast Group first partnered with the Mariners in 2019 for their Mariners academy and Junior Member programs, before upgrading in 2021 to become a Senior Partner. Since 2021, they have had their logo positioned on the sleeves of the Mariners Men’s A-League kits.

Steadfast Group is the largest general insurance broker network and the largest group of insurance underwriting agencies in Australasia, with growing operations in Asia and Europe.

Their three business units empower Steadfast to serve their main goal – ensuring their brokers provide their clients with exceptional service and superior products.

Central Coast Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp mentioned Steadfast’s commitment to improving the Central Coast community.

“From their initial collaboration in 2019, Steadfast has shown unwavering dedication to our club and the development of football in our region. Now, as we venture into this exciting new chapter with the Mariners’ Women’s A-League team, Steadfast’s continued support sends a strong message of unity and progress,” Mielekamp said via press release.

“We believe that this partnership not only reflects the shared values between our businesses but also demonstrates our collective ambition to drive change in the world of football.

“We are so pleased to have Steadfast Group in prime position partnering with our Women’s team, their extended support underscores their commitment to empowering women in sport and making a lasting impact on the Central Coast community.”

Steadfast Founder, Managing Director and CEO Robert B. Kelly AM expressed his excitement to build the women’s game even further.

“Steadfast strives to have a positive and lasting impact on our communities, and empowering women’s sports is a fun and powerful way to do so,” Kelly added via Mariners press release.

“We’ve now been a proud supporter of the Central Coast Mariners for almost five years and are pleased to extend this support to the Women’s A-League. I wish the team every success as we look forward to an incredible season.”

The Mariners have mentioned in their overall strategy and in other recent agreements that they have a key focus on improving women’s football in the Gosford community. Recently, they made a commitment to upgrading the facilities and resources available to the women’s program and also received a generous gym equipment donation from the Lionesses to fast-track the progress.

As the Mariners enter the 2023/24 season as returnees to the league, the club and Steadfast Group have made it clear that they are focusing on increasing awareness and the quality of women’s football in the local community as they prepare an elite foundation to ensure the quality is sustained.

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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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