Devonport’s Meercroft Park facility now complete

Liam Watson

Devonport’s new Meercroft Park Facility has been officially opened by Federal Member for Braddon Gavin Pearce MP, Deputy Premier of Tasmania the Hon. Jeremy Rockliff MP and Mayor of Devonport, Annette Rockliff.

The new facility was made possible by $1.5 million in funding by all tiers of government, as well as Football Tasmania and the Devonport Junior Soccer Association.

Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff says there are new change rooms and toilets that are accessible for all abilities, coupled with a meeting room and canteen resources. Council provided the land and the supplies to manage the project – they will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance.

“Council is pleased to see this facility already being utilised by the hundreds of junior soccer goers and also running groups and athletics training,” Rockliff said.

“Meercroft Park can now cater for state and national sporting events and will host the 2021 Devonport Cup this June long weekend, which attracts thousands of visitors to the region. We already have a record 85 teams from around the state competing.”

Devonport Junior Soccer Association patron Mike Gaffney was a catalyst behind securing the $1.5 million in funding for the club.

“With more than 900 competitors in this year’s junior soccer roster, the new facility will not only be advantageous for the local community, but may also attract national and potentially international competitions,” Gaffney said.

Member for Braddon Gavin Pearce MP, said the Federal Government is committed to supporting the region’s sporting communities, adding $1 million in funding to the facility.

“With the growth of soccer across the North-West Coast, Meercroft Park is a popular weekend destination for our junior soccer players,” Pearce said.

“The Federal Government is proud to support this important community asset, which will not only benefit the region’s strong participation in junior soccer, but our next generation of athletes.”

Deputy Premier the Hon. Jeremy Rockliff said the Tasmanian Government is proud to give over $450,000 to the project, under the Levelling the Playing Field Grant Program.

“We are committed to increasing opportunities for participation in sport and active recreation in our regional communities, and the new Meerfcroft Park facility is an added bonus to an already popular sporting precinct,” Mr Rockliff said.

The Devonport Junior Soccer Association contributed $40,000 and Football Tasmania provided $10,000 to the project.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

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