Norman Griffiths Oval set to undergo synthetic field upgrade

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Northern Suburbs Football Association
Image provided by Northern Suburbs Football Association

Following a severely weather-affected season, the Northern Suburbs Football Association is set to welcome synthetic field upgrades for Norman Griffiths Oval.

The home of West Pymble FC, Norman Griffiths Oval has long struggled with drainage and grass coverage. Ku-ring-gai Council identified the field as a suitable location for a synthetic conversion over five years ago and after several revisions to the plans the project is due to begin construction next month.

It comes after a 2022 season significantly affected by rain throughout the first half of the year – the full field at Norman Griffiths Oval has only been open for one weekend of senior football fixtures this season. NSFA and West Pymble have been able to utilise part of the playing surface for junior football matches on six weekends, still only half of the competition weeks available so far this season.
Ku-ring-gai region grounds have suffered significantly during 2022, with the following fields unable to see any training or match usage this season:

• Primula Oval
• Kent Oval
• Barra Brui
• George Christie
• Loyal Henry
• The Glade Main field & Midi
• Ku-ring-gai High School

“This season our playing community has lost hundreds of hours of physical activity due to ground closures brought on by wet weather,” explained NSFA CEO Edward Ferguson in a statement via the NSFA.

“The synthetic field and lighting upgrade at Norman Griffiths Oval would triple the number of hours the field can be used per week, in addition to essentially eliminating wet weather closures.”

“With our player numbers expected to grow to 20,000 by the year 2026, this upgrade is essential to allow our community the opportunity to continue playing their chosen sport.”

West Pymble FC are equally excited by the prospect of the Norman Griffith Oval redevelopment as their female participation numbers soar, reaching 35% of total club numbers in 2022. The Club’s new strategic plan puts into focus their community, football development and providing all players access to football year-round. WPFC have been active in their support of the local referees association by hosting their pre-season courses and since 2006 have conducted their own Special Needs football program.

As a Club, West Pymble FC will be contributing over $850,000 to the project through member funds and grants as part of the Asian Cup Legacy fund, alongside NSFA’s $125,000 contribution. This investment from the Club and Association demonstrates the commitment football is willing to make towards Council grounds to create better community facilities and assets for the future.

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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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