Who will be the next Melbourne Victory CEO?

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When Trent Jacobs announced in May that he would be stepping down as Melbourne Victory Chief Executive Officer (CEO), he left a colossal task ahead for whoever is his chosen successor.

Whoever steps into the role will need to act fast, steady the ship and win support from the fans because of Victory’s recent struggles in the A-League. With a review of the structure of the club currently underway by club director and company secretary Caroline Carnegie, the decision of who takes the role will likely be influenced by club chairman Anthony Di Pietro and herself. There are a number of people available who could easily step into the role, bringing with them experience and football knowledge to give the Victory a much-needed soft reboot.

Richard Scudmore, the former English Premier League CEO, is already familiar with the A-League after working as a special adviser to competition boss Greg O’Rourke. Scudmore is an experienced football operator who could bring a wealth of knowledge to Victory’s boardroom. The sticking point is surely the price it would cost to bring in someone of his stature. Whether Victory has the funds, or the will to fork out the dollars for Scudmore is surely the biggest hurdle. However, he would a valuable asset for any club.

Should they instead focus on an experienced hand, who has been at the helm of an A-League team before? Recently departed Newcastle Jets Chief Executive Lawrie McKinna could have the experience necessary to take on the role at Melbourne Victory, and his passion for football is in display for all. After a tumultuous time at the Jets, the Victory job could be a big enough carrot to lure him back into the hot seat, despite rumours of a return to local politics.

Another option would be the former head of the A-League Archie Fraser. He was CEO of St Kilda football club for a time, and was also briefly the Macarthur FC CEO, before stepping down four months into his tenure to pursue a different opportunity. Another experienced football head, he could bring knowledge and professionalism to Victory to help in their much-needed rebuild. Whether he has the passion to re-enter football is the question.

An outside-the-box option could be Jeff Doyle, the former group CEO of Altus Traffic. Doyle is a former professional footballer in the United Kingdom, and he is a known quality to Melbourne Victory because of his involvement through front-of-shirt sponsorship deals. Someone from outside the current structure of the A-League, with time spent in different facets of the game, could prove a wise choice for the Victory going forward. Doyle recently left his role as CEO of Altus Traffic and is a hot favorite for the position within the Victory fan base.

A different angle to pursue could be to promote someone into the top job from within the club. This is unlikely however, as CEOs are rarely promoted from within an organisation.

A decision – and an announcement – is surely imminent of who will be the next Melbourne Victory CEO. Whoever it is will have the mammoth task of bringing success and titles back to one of Australia’s largest clubs. They will need to breathe new life into a club that used to demand success at all levels, which has stuttered in recent years. The pressure will be huge from a fan base hungry for titles which have eluded them since Kevin Muscat’s departure as head coach, while the new CEO will also be supporting a new coaching team headlined by Tony Popovic. Whoever it is, they have their work cut out for them.

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More than 220 coaches attend Football South Australia’s second NOVA Youth Club Championship workshop

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Image Credit: FQ

Football South Australia drew more than 220 coaches to its second NOVA Youth Club Championship Coaches Workshop in late May, underlining the scale of engagement clubs are generating through the state’s restructured youth competition framework.

The online session was facilitated by Football SA Technical Director Michael Cooper, who also serves as Junior Matildas Head Coach. Cooper shared observations from the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup and Australia’s qualification for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, giving club-level coaches a window into the demands and standards of elite international football.

The presenter line-up extended that international lens further. Lachlan Tosh and Cristiano Dos Santos spoke to their experiences in national tournament environments, while legendary Australian coach Tom Sermanni addressed the fundamentals of youth coaching. Colin Sanctuary from the University of Newcastle examined coaching language and its direct influence on player learning.

Themes running across the session included the primacy of long-term player development over short-term results, with presenters consistently emphasising technique, ball mastery, individual improvement, and decision-making under pressure. Coaches were encouraged to expose players to varied styles of play, facilitate practice outside organised training, and help young players retain possession longer in match conditions.

Post-session feedback pointed to strong practical value, with coaches singling out clear communication, relationship-building, and age-appropriate feedback as key takeaways.

The workshop series sits within the broader transition from the Youth Premier League to the Club Championship model, which ties coaching participation to championship points for clubs and CPD credits toward individual coaching diplomas. Six workshops are scheduled across the season, with four still to come.

1200 players to descend on Geelong for Football Victoria Country Championships as Regional Football Enters New Era

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Image Credit: Football Victoria

More than 1,200 junior footballers from across regional Victoria will converge on Geelong this weekend for the 2026 Football Victoria Country Championships, with players representing eight regions competing across the King’s Birthday long weekend at Stead Park and Myers Reserve.

The tournament, which has been running since 1978 and has grown into one of the largest junior football events in the country, takes on additional significance this year. It marks the first Country Championships since Football Victoria announced a restructured regional football model in December 2025, making this edition an early measure of how that new framework translates into competitive outcomes at the representative level.

Sixty-seven teams will compete across Under-11 to Under-16 age groups for both boys and girls, with finals day scheduled for Monday. All fixtures and results will be available through the DRIBL app.

More than silverware

FV Regional Development Manager Lauren Stevens said the tournament represented something beyond the competitive results it produces.

“The Country Championships are an exciting opportunity for players from across regional Victoria to come together, represent their region and create lasting memories both on and off the pitch,” Stevens said. “This tournament has a rich history and continues to play an important role in bringing regional football communities together while providing players with the chance to experience a high-level representative environment and talent identification opportunity.”

That dual function is central to what makes the Country Championships structurally significant. For many players travelling to Geelong this weekend, a regional representative tournament is the highest level of football they have experienced. For some, it will be the environment in which they first come to the attention of Football Victoria’s technical staff and pathway programs.

The talent identification dimension carries particular weight at a moment when Football Victoria’s participation numbers are at record levels and the pipeline from community football to elite competition has never been more closely scrutinised. The 2025 Annual Report documented a 14 percent overall participation increase, with junior football among the fastest-growing segments. Tournaments like the Country Championships are where that growth begins to translate into representative opportunity for players who live outside metropolitan Melbourne.

Regional football in transition

The timing of this year’s Championships against the backdrop of Football Victoria’s regional restructure adds a layer of context that will be watched closely by administrators and clubs. The December 2025 announcement of the new regional model represented the most significant structural change to regional football governance in the state in some years, and the process of transitioning Life Members from regional associations into the Football Victoria honour roll at last month’s AGM reflected the scale of that change.

How the eight regions perform this weekend will offer an early indication of whether the restructured model is serving regional communities effectively.

The Corrie Koppen Fair Play Award, introduced last year to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Cornelius Koppen, adds a dimension to the competition that sits alongside the on-field results. The award is given to the region judged to have played and conducted itself in the spirit of the game, a recognition that how communities behave at a junior tournament is as meaningful as what they win.

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