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Surf Coast FC boosted by $2 million facility upgrade
Works have officially begun on a $2 million facility upgrade project at Banyul-Warri Fields, the home of Surf Coast FC.
Surf Coast FC received the significant funding from the Victorian Government, with the club itself also investing $100,000 in the project.
The upgrades include:
A new social room for Surf Coast FC – which includes a canteen and administration space
Elevated tiered seating with viewing of all three pitches at Banyul-Warri Fields
Two new change rooms
Two new referee rooms
Two refurbished referee rooms
Four new accessible toilets
Large soccer storage space
New shared user group storage space
Shelter for ground-level spectators beneath the upper-level tiered seating overhang
New footpaths for access around the building and all spaces
Vice President of Surf Coast FC, Renato Trentin, explained the club had begun seeking out upgrades around a decade ago.
“We didn’t have a separate social room for our club and we saw this an issue,” he said.
“So, we started lobbying the council a while back, probably around 10 years ago.
“We then progressed to working with and lobbying both the state and federal government, to acquire some sort of grant to help us get a grandstand, on top of the social room.
“The main driver was to get that social room so that we could have our own space, instead of utilizing a shared space.
“We eventually got promised the upgrades at the last state election by both parties and they obviously have upheld the promise, which is great.”
With construction on the project beginning early last week, the upgrades are set to be fully implemented by June of next year.
The new facilities will have a host of benefits for Surf Coast FC, according to Trentin.
“We are getting additional changerooms and facilities, and we’re very pleased that they will be more user friendly to those in our community with special needs,” he said.
“This will now allow us to start getting involved in other types of competitions, for example the all-abilities competition. The new facilities will provide greater flexibility for all members of our community.”
“As well as that, we get a much larger storeroom so we won’t have as much product damage as in previous times.
“There will be a viewing grandstand as well which is fantastic, so people and our members can sit upstairs and view the games from a comfortable sheltered position.
“We also then have a social room as well, which will be accessible to other people in the community but is predominantly our home.”
Surf Coast FC itself has a strong bond with the local community and it’s something the club wants to continue to grow in the coming years.
“We are a community focused football club; we look at developing community football and getting people to fall in love with the game,” Trentin said.
“We try to offer football across all different age groups, from four-year-old’s to however old you want to be to play.
“We also have a strong focus on developing the female side of the game – and really looking at how we can invest, as more and more females are getting involved in the game.
“With the World Cup coming up in two years’ time, it’s a primary focus for us.”
The club is extremely happy with the layout of the upgrades, but further facility upgrades in the near future may also be on the cards for Surf Coast FC.
“Maybe some smaller projects in the future, but I think they will be within the club’s and council’s capacity to work together to get that done,” Trentin said.
“The council has always supported us.
“Overall, we are quite happy with the state of how things are progressing right now.”
Melbourne's Federation Square. Credit BBC Sport/GETTY IMAGES
Australian football is continuing to grow, with record attendances and TV viewership up year-on-year due to the increasing value and demand of games across the country.
What started as a small ember stoked by a cultural heritage brought from Europe, has borne a league invested in by foreign states and major global equity firms, and a country that consistently supports its national teams at major tournaments globally; the fire is truly alive. But, can it be sustained and given even more life?
Ann-Marie Balliana, secretary of Illawarra club Fairy Meadow United, spoke with Soccerscene. ‘The biggest challenge for football in this country is how to take advantage of huge grassroots numbers and translate this into support for other levels of the game,’ said Balliana, formerly a long-term CEO of Football South Coast.
‘Instead of capitalising on this huge asset of participation numbers, it appears football is unfortunately bound by limited investment and various layers of internal boundaries.
‘There are lots of opportunities for football to rise to the next level, and significant work required to get there.’
The World Cup proves football belongs in Australia:
The success of the Socceroos in reaching the last six consecutive men’s World Cups has greatly boosted the domestic interest in football, with the 2026 World Cup highlighting how far the team has come, and how many people are behind them to succeed. The SBS and SBS On Demand coverage of the tournament reached over 18 million Australians (64% of the population) and over 209 million hours were consumed via these sites. Meanwhile, over 10,000 dedicated fans paid up to AUD $25,000 to watch their country participate live in North America.
I took in the tournament from Melbourne, and the energy among the city was undeniable. Bubbling with excitement were people conversing who usually wouldn’t, and there lay an air of calm between the 90 minutes of euphoric nation-wide highs.
Federation Square was at full capacity (7,500) for many of the group games and the knockout match against Egypt- despite the 4.00am kick-off time.
Alongside that, AAMI Park held 6,000 more spectators in the early hours of the day for the knockout game. Despite the time zone killing any convenience, the fans diligently showed up. The post-World Cup glow also took effect: Queensland selling out both recent friendlies against Brazil.
World Cup 2026 TV ratings
Match
Overall reach
Average audience viewership
Key detail
Final: Spain vs France
5.26m (peak)
2.69m
Most watched World Cup match in SBS history
Australia vs Paraguay
4.84m
3.09m
Highest viewed fixture for Socceroos
Australia vs Turkey
4.78m
3.04m
Top performing early fixture
The rise of the domestic game persists:
Domestically too, figures show Australian football is continuing to grow. October’s 2026 Australia Cup final betweenSouth Melbourne and Melbourne Victory was not only a match that will be remembered by fans for its entertainment and underdog storyline, but for investors and governing bodies that can clearly see the growing market for football in this country. AAMI Park had its record attendance broken as 29,911 spectators packed in to watch the game. Furthermore, the TV viewership of the Cup final had a 56% increase from the previous year. The demand for football is growing significantly.
A-League Stats and Records 2025/26 season:
3 sold out finals games- 22% increase on attendance last season.
27% increase in digital viewership on Paramount+ and 17% on 10 Streaming.
For the last four seasons, over 1.3 million fans have attended games throughout the campaign
TV viewership exceeded 11 million views.
Social media reached over 7 million people (10% increase).
Newcastle Jets, Adelaide United and Perth Glory all broke their previous attendance records.
The Cup final saw a non A-League club win the trophy for the first time in competition history.
South Melbourne fans. Credit SMFC
‘It also showed that NPL clubs such as South Melbourne have a fantastic support base, and this shows the potential of football to really capitalise on the community support that does exist for clubs,’ said Balliana.
‘The costs of running an A-League club are clearly the biggest issue in growing our national competition, and without significant investment through broadcast, government and other revenue streams, there are limited opportunities to take advantage of huge grassroots numbers.’
England is widely regarded as having the best domestic competitions on the planet, largely due to its impact on communities right across the country. However, its most attractive quality is competitiveness, and this is best showcased in the FA Cup. Teams across all divisions have the chance to play against each other, which occasionally sees semi-professional ‘non-league’ sides the opportunity to play against a giant, such as Manchester United or Liverpool.
Often referred to as the ‘magic’ of the cup, there is a belief that any team can win on any given day – even if their odds of succeeding are the football equivalent of what David had in beating Goliath.
The magic is in the upsets, and that competitiveness is what ties the whole football pyramid together. For the game in Australia to grow, and to sustain itself, matches must be competitive from the first minute to the last, from the A-Leagues to the grassroots pitches all across the country.
The importance of grassroots football:
To understand football- from financial investments, market growth, popularity or simply emotional attachment – you have to start at the bottom of the pyramid. The base of football in every country is the grassroots game. It lays the foundation, and both the future of the A-League and the Soceroos & Matildas is entirely in the hands of the grassroots level.
Globally, amateur matches are played everyday. Those clubs have a youth system, in which the talent pool is small, and so more established clubs recruit players from that pool. This process continues all the way to the world’s elite. Domestic talent comes from grassroots football, and without domestic talent, the game is nothing. Once a fire is lit, it needs a constant fuel source to keep it alive. If the wood is wet or rotting, the fire will slowly dissipate into ash. To keep that from happening, the fuel needs to be re-supplied so it steadily grows. Neglecting grassroots football is the quickest way for the game to decline and it is why it is imperative that it is well-funded.
‘Grassroots football is where children start their journey in football. It’s where players fall in love with the game and develop a passion for playing,’ said Balliana. ‘This not only applies to players, but also administrators, coaches and referees. Grassroots football creates opportunities for all roles across football providing pathways across all levels of the game.’
Recently, Football NSW pledged over AUD $200,000 to three amateur clubs. The funding will allow them to upgrade facilities, create more inclusive and accessible environments and improve the fans match day experience.
Additionally, since 2020 the Dickinson Foundation set up the Active Kids Grant and has provided over AUD $5.5 million worth of equipment and uniform to support over 1000 community clubs. In 2026, 40 football clubs were supported nationwide.
Commitment to grassroots is necessary, nation-wide. With it, clubs can grow and give players the opportunity to improve and be noticed by more established teams. Investing in grassroots football is investing in the future.
Finance and infrastructure:
As the game has grown throughout the pyramid, so too has investment in it. Globally speaking, football is an industry that has boomed in the digital age, and grown beyond what was previously conceived as possible. Some investors were early; others are riding the wave hoping it never breaks, but inevitably it will. Everything has to peak, yet that doesn’t mean all conclusions are negative Whatever the fate of the financial wave, neither a tsunami nor shallow brake will impact people’s true love of the game. The game may take many forms, but the fans will be there for generations to come.
In 2021, US private equity firm Silver Lake acquired a 33.3% minority stake in the A-League for AUD 140 million that valued the whole organisation at AUD 425 million. The finances of the APL have been an issue in the years since, and what becomes of their relationship with Silver Lake remains to be seen. In positive news, Network 10 & Paramount+ recently renewed their broadcast deal worth AUD 100million for an additional two years, so interest is there. Domestically, football has plenty of space to grow.
‘There is always a direct relationship between World Cup success and increased participation given the exposure of football is heightened and more people want to play,’ Balliana continued. ‘However, this also comes with challenges as infrastructure is clearly not to the level it needs to be to support the size and growth of football across our region and the country.’
As audiences grow – particularly when it comes to our national teams – the fire will continue to need fuel, and that can only be sourced organically from the ground up. Through the continued development of grassroots football, football can still grow to be the dominant sport in this country.
It’s hard to imagine that so much life experience can be packed into one person’s voyage of discovery but in the case of Harry Michaels it has all materialised.
Michael’s recently, published autobiography is the fascinating account of a man who was determined to succeed in life, whatever the obstacles.
Significantly, his early life at the age of nine was smeared with the tragic loss of his father. Many people would have found it extremely difficult to ever recover from such a bitter experience but not Harry Michaels.
Incredibly, something in the makeup of this young man encouraged him to achieve greatness in honoring the life of his father.
There is a constant message in the book that Michaels would honor his father’s memory forever by achieving perfection in his life endeavours.
Michaels achieved many milestones in his life and football was to become a central theme after he first kicked a ball with his peers in the narrow streets of Cyprus, followed by playing in the school team when he stayed with his aunt in London for a few years after his father’s death.
Australia is the lucky country and when Michaels and his family migrated to Australia, this country was to become infinitely better for it.
In a relatively short space of time, Michaels and his family adjusted to life in their adopted country and when Harry acquired a part in the Channel Ten sitcom, Number 96, the sky was the limit for his future plans.
He became a household name in the living rooms of Australian television viewers and eventually succeeded in entering the cut-throat world of production with the Greek Variety Show.
His biggest success was with Aerobics Ozstyle which originated in 1997 when he witnessed some people doing exercise routines for a television show on the beaches of California and subsequently instigated a pilot television show in Australia.
Currently, it is experiencing a huge revival on Youtube.
Michael’s great love for football naturally led him into the broadcasting arena of the world game and from 1982-2006, he covered NSL and international matches for SBS, including the 1993 World Youth Cup in Australia, Australia v Argentina World Cup qualifier featuring the immortal Diego Maradona, the 1997 World Cup qualifier between the Socceroos and Iran and 2005 elimination match in Sydney between Australia and Uruguay which received some of the highest ratings of any sporting contest ever televised in Australia.
Perhaps, the most dramatic event of all was the coverage of the Pratten Park riot in 1985 at a match between Sydney Olympic and Sydney City.
If this wasn’t enough, Michaels also financed Wollongong Wolves in the 1988 NSL season and was successful in attracting the talents of Paul Mariner, Alan Brazil and Trevor Francis to the club as guest players which led to the first major title won by an Illawarra club since South Coast United led by the mercurial, Jim Kelly, won the 1963 NSW State League grand final in front of a record Australian club attendance of 30,500.
He was the President of Sydney Olympic from 1991-1993 and made a major impact on the club.
Michaels never wanted to be praised for his contribution to football and very people knew he introduced Ericsson Australia, Nanda Spaghetti, Coca Cola, Winfield, Beach Fashions, and Westend Beer Company as sponsors of the NSL, while never asking for any financial reward.
Also, when the broadcasting company which produced the A-League faltered half way through the 2023/24 season, it was Harry Michaels who stepped in to fill the void.
Ironically, Harry was not asked to tender for the broadcasting rights in the following season.
It was something he found hard to accept but successful people like Harry don’t dwell on such events and seek the next challenge.
Hence the title of his book, ‘Never Standing Still’ is a true reflection of a man who let’s no barrier stand in the way to achieve his next goal where others would have given up long before.
Appropriately, his true worth and contribution to the community was duly recognised when he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2004 for his services to broadcasting and football.
This book should be read by all people who want to be inspired by a story where adversity was converted to positives and all football administrators who would learn how the man Harry Michaels became a winner and a highly respected public face in Australian society for his unselfish community contribution.
