Graham Arnold: We need a Home of Football for the Socceroos

Staff Writer26/05/2023 6:09 am26/05/2023

Image credit: IOIO IMAGES / Shutterstock.com

Recently appearing on the ABC’s ‘Offsiders’ program, Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has reiterated the need for a dedicated home of football for the Socceroos in Australia.

With the Matildas soon to move into a permanent base at La Trobe University in Melbourne, the Socceroos are yet to receive a similar deal.

Journalist Caroline Wilson asked Arnold on the program whether he’d been ‘coaching with one arm tied behind his back’, after the success of the Socceroos campaign at the recent FIFA World Cup had not translated to considerable government support.

In recent times, the Australian Federal Government has injected $230 million to build a new stadium in Hobart for the AFL’s newest expansion team based in Tasmania.

On the program, Arnold claimed: “I’m really happy for the AFL to get what they get, and the rugby league and the NRL in New South Wales to get what they get, but we get nothing at the end of the day. We don’t get any high performance money off the government, we don’t have a home for the Socceroos.

“I’m bringing players back from Europe that are top class players and they’ve got the best training facilities in Europe,” he said.

“They come back, we stay in a hotel, we’ve got no recovery centre. The boys have to get an ice bath, get ice, put in their own bathtub in their rooms to recover from the flight and get ready for the game.

“So it’s something that I believe that the only way forward for Australian football is we need a home of football that we can build the pathways for the kids.

“We’re just looking at the elite level of the Socceroos and the Matildas but the pathways are the most important thing and unless we fix the ingredients in the cake and get that right, well, then the game will suffer.”

The Socceroos return to action on June 15 against Argentina in China.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Patrick Irving16/04/2026 8:55 am16/04/2026

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

Patrick Irving15/04/2026 6:05 am14/04/2026

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.