Western United working with Lifeline Western Melbourne to battle mental health in the local community

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Western United and Lifeline Western Melbourne
Image credit: Western United

Western United announced Lifeline Western Melbourne as the Club’s Charity Partner for the 2023/24 season in a bid to tackle mental health in the local community.

Western United, with the help from current Premier Partner Victoria University, will connect with Lifeline Western Melbourne with the goal to reinforce their core club value of helping the community battle any mental health problems.

The partnership will include mental health training and specific classes throughout the season to assist club staff and players.

Recently at the Liberty A-League Women’s, the club put together a sausage sizzle at City Vista where all proceeds would go directly to Lifeline Western Melbourne.

Lifeline is a network with 41 centres, 10,000 volunteers and 1,000 employees who provide mental health support and build new infrastructure for those in need in the community.

Each year, over one million Australians reach out to Lifeline for support, with mental health illness recognised as the second highest stipulated disease affecting people in Tarneit, making this an important issue at the heart of Western United’s work on and off the football pitch.

Western United General Manager of Commercial Chris Speldewinde explained the club’s core focus on the mental side of life amongst the local community.

“We acknowledge the role we can play in supporting our western Melbourne community and we are thrilled to be partnering with Lifeline Western Melbourne to tackle mental health,” Speldewinde said in a Western United statement.

“It has been great to bring this partnership to life through support from our Premier Partner Victoria University and now Principal Partner Sharp EIT Solutions, highlighting the significant role Lifeline Western Melbourne plays in our local community.”

Michael Parker, Lifeline Head of Corporate and Community Partnerships, expressed his gratitude towards Western United for their help and support through this partnership.

“Lifeline Western Melbourne is delighted to be working alongside Western United as Charity Partner for season 2023/24. At Lifeline, we work in the community for the community, so it is great to be aligning with an organisation who shares such a strong commitment to supporter and mental health and wellbeing of the local community,” Parker said in a Lifeline statement.

“We believe it is vital for Lifeline Western Melbourne to partner with organisations like Western United to ensure we play our part in supporting people with their mental health and wellbeing.”

It’s fantastic to see another A-League club take the initiative to partner with such a committed company like Lifeline to tackle the important mental health issues that affect so many in the local community.

To express interest in Lifeline’s Crisis Supporter Training, contact Lifeline at ldtraining@lifeline.org.au.

If you or anyone you know needs support or if this story has caused you any distress, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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Melbourne Victory and BYD drive innovation through new major partnership

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Image Credits: Shutterstock

Melbourne Victory has officially welcomed BYD as a Major Partner and the Club’s exclusive Motor Vehicle Supplier for the next 12 months. At a partner launch bringing together the two organisations, the focus is on building around innovation, growth and a drive for success. The partnership will place BYD at the centre of Melbourne Victory’s fan experience. The brand will feature on the front of both the A-League men’s and women’s home and away jerseys. This gives BYD a strong presence across matchdays, broadcasts and digital content throughout the season.

The partnership extends well beyond the playing kit. BYD will be integrated across Melbourne Victory’s media, Academy and community assets. The two organisations will also collaborate through Member and pathways programs. This creates opportunities for BYD to connect with Victory supporters across multiple touchpoints.

For BYD, the partnership provides a direct connection with Melbourne Victory’s growing supporter and member base. The automotive brand has built a rapidly expanding presence in Australia and New Zealand. Its partnership with Victory provides another platform to build awareness and engage with Australian consumers. BYD Australia Chief Operating Officer Stephen Collins said the alignment between the two organisations was a key factor behind the deal.

“At BYD we’re enormously excited to welcome the Melbourne Victory into the BYD family as an exclusive automotive partner,” Collins said.

“What really appeals to us was the culture of innovation and the hunger for success.”

That alignment is reflected in the way the partnership will operate. BYD will not simply appear on Melbourne Victory assets. The brand will be connected to the Club’s members, fans, business network, pathways and community programs. Melbourne Victory Managing Director Caroline Carnegie said the partnership reflects a shared ambition for continued growth. She also highlighted the organisations’ common focus on leading, connecting and inspiring their communities. Together, Melbourne Victory and BYD will bring the partnership to life across matchdays, media, community initiatives and supporter experiences throughout the 2026-27 season.

Episode 4: “You could have sold it out twice”: Peter Filopoulos on why unification is the way forward

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PETER FILOPOULOS sees Saturday’s Australia Cup final between Melbourne Victory and South Melbourne Hellas as a ‘unification event’ that must be harnessed as a window to the future – rather than a means of stirring up old division – if Australian football is to progress.

“This game sold out organically, and having run marketing, corporate affairs and communications at Football Australia previously, I don’t think they would have needed to spend one single dollar on marketing,” Filopoulos told Soccerscene Unfiltered.

“You could have probably sold it out twice! This tells me it’s the sort of product the fans want; it’s authentic and taps into the new and the old, and demonstrates culture as a real asset. You couldn’t have scripted it better.

“If I was in a decision-making position at the A-League, I’d be looking very closely at why fans have responded in such an emphatic way.”

Filopoulos has seen it all across his near-35 year career in sports administration, which by his calculation has been split evenly inside the Australian football tent and outside it – but when outside, always with at least one eye glancing back.

Fifteen years across AFL clubs Hawthorn & North Melbourne as that code moved from a financially traumatic 1990s into a wealthier new millennium; five years at Football Australia: ‘easily the most transformative period for Australian football in its history’; stints with Etihad Stadium and even a period ‘completely out of my comfort zone’ at Swimming Australia.

There’s been crisis management, stepping in as Perth Glory CEO after the 2015 salary cap scandal; he’s seen the A-League’s boom times under the Lowys & Fox Sports’ 2018 broadcast deal; he’s enjoyed the euphoria of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

But all stems back to the National Soccer League and South Melbourne Hellas, and his bold decision to take on the Club’s inaugural general manager position in December 1993, aged just 25.

“I wasn’t ready… but what it taught me is when an opportunity is presented to you, just say ‘yes’ and work out how to do it later. I’ve used this throughout my career, and that was one of those instances where I threw myself in the deep end.

“I had my career mapped out, and was working quite happily in accounting. But I was a passionate fan and having grown up at the old Middle Park, it was a natural ‘yes’ – and I was young enough to take a risk.”

With today’s A-League financially ailing and great clubs of yesteryear enjoying what Filopoulos terms a ‘renaissance’ – and agitating as vociferously for a return to the top flight as at any point since the demise of the NSL – he feels it is again time for bold leadership, and a little risk.

“You can have all the ambition in the world, and in being part of a club, you’re a custodian. But as I’ve always seen it, you need a sustainable commercial model: sound ownership, sound facilities, revenue, etc…

‘But you also need to understand how to tap into that asset of culture. What we’re seeing with the Australia Cup final is a result of culture, right? You need to create it amongst your fans, and know who your fans are, and tell them what you’re striving for. Bring them along on the journey!”

Catch the full chat with Peter Filoupolos on Soccerscene Unfiltered: from ‘eyeballing’ Frank Arok and backing Ange Postecoglou, overcoming resource challenges at Football Victoria, to the rise of the Matildas, and plenty more…

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