Scottish Football Marketing changes the game

Staff Writer
Scotland National Team
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The Scottish FA, Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), and Scottish Women’s Premier League have united to form Scottish Football Marketing.

The nation’s three bodies will oversee a centralised commercial hub that boosts the profile of their national game.

Scottish Football Marketing will look for talented and ambitious commercial professionals to be based at Hampden Park, reporting to a commercial board. The key objectives will be Scottish football’s brand awareness and increasing revenues from enhanced data collection, sponsorship and licensing for the sport.

Scottish Football Marketing is a result of SPFL’s key pillars from their strategic review, approved earlier this season. That review was driven by the late Ron Gordon of Hibernian and involved Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts and Rangers.

There is also a process of finding a Commercial Director for Scottish Football Marketing, with applications being sorted and an announcement to follow.

Scottish FA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell said via press release:

“Scottish football offers a compelling and unpredictable narrative on the field. We believe it is time to work smarter off the field, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, to reinforce the magic of our national game.

“We have seen similar models work well in football and across sport and entertainment and want to make sure Scottish football is as attractive as possible to fans of all ages, with an offering that will be attractive to new sponsors and partners.”

SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster added via press release:

“During the pandemic, the whole of Scottish football worked in unison and the daily meetings of the Joint Response Group were vital in ensuring that clubs emerged intact from the huge challenges posed by Covid.

“That model, bringing together the considerable resources, skills, and energy of the entire sport, showed how much more we can achieve when we all pull together.

“The SPFL recently announced record turnover and record fees returned to our 42 clubs. The creation of Scottish Football Marketing gives the game a major strategic advantage in developing new and attractive commercial propositions which will, in turn, further increase revenues for the benefit of fans and clubs alike.

“Ron Gordon was a driving force of the Scottish Football Marketing project and we hope its creation will be a legacy of his all-too-short time in Scottish football.”

SWPL Managing Director Fiona McIntyre said as per statement:

“The SWPL has come a long way in a very short space of time, and underpinning this early progress has been a culture of collaboration across SWPL clubs, the SPFL, and the Scottish FA. In our first season of existence, we have already created record-breaking partnerships with Sky Sports, BBC Scotland, BBC ALBA and Mitre.

“Scottish Football Marketing is an innovative and exciting development for Scottish football and our involvement will further strengthen elite women’s football in Scotland – and accelerate the growth of the women’s game in this country.”

Scottish Football Marketing is an ambitious step from the SPFL, one that unites all key decision makers and aligns future promotion opportunities both in their homeland and abroad.

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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.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

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Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

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