Brighton eyes return home as councillors back purpose-built women’s stadium

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Brighton women's football motion
Image credit: Kyle Hemsley

Brighton & Hove Albion has secured a motion for a purpose-built stadium to become the home of their Women’s Super League side.

Following a motion on Thursday (October 19 2023), Brighton & Hove City Council approved the club’s request for purpose-built stadium, helping to the bring the women’s side back to the seaside.

Up until now, the women had been playing out of Crawley which is 20 miles (32 km) away.

The motion saw the support of both council leaders and club officials alike.

Albion’s Managing Director of Women and Girls, Zoe Johnson, led the club’s push.

“We are desperate to get the team back to the city of Brighton & Hove and have been working hard to bring this to fruition. Having the support of the city council is a big step forward, and I should thank Bella Sankey,” she said via press release.

“It is so encouraging for us to have a council leader who sees the power of sport and just how important that is for everyone – women and men – and Bella has been so supportive in our aims to bring the team home.

“Our women’s team currently play their home matches at Crawley Town’s Broadfield Stadium, and while the club gets a warm welcome there and Crawley are great hosts, the commitment of the club’s board is to bring the team back to the city.”

Leader of the Council Bella Sankey – a keen supporter of women’s football, then expressed the historic importance of helping to bring the women’s side home.

“The phenomenal rise of women’s football at a local and national level deserves recognition. It also requires practical support to ensure the women’s game continues to grow,” Cr Sankey added via press release.

“It’s been over 100 years since the Football Association introduced a ban on the women’s game being played at the professional grounds and pitches of clubs affiliated to the FA. Despite this ban being lifted in the 1970s, we are still a long way from women’s football reaching parity.

“Look how the Albion men’s team has roared to success once we got the Falmer stadium built. It’s about time we brought the Albion women’s team home to our city too. Our motion to Full Council demonstrates our full commitment to working with the club to deliver this for the Brighton & Hove Albion women’s team and all the fans.”

The proposer of the motion – Labour Councillor John Hewitt – expressed in the council meeting on the matter the economic benefit such an investment will have.

“It is vital that the team relocates to the city so that the infrastructure is in place so that they can thrive,” stated Cr Hewitt at the motion’s proposal.

“A purpose-built stadium for our team will allow attendance to improve, encourage participation and will enable the team to follow on in the footsteps of the men’s side.”

When making their assessment, the councillors were directed to an independent study made during the 2022/23 campaign that found the club had contributed over $1 billion (AUD) to the local economy during that season.

Having secured council support, the club will now make enquiries to suitable locations.

This is a rare opportunity and is deeply reflective of the cultural climate and excitement that surrounds women’s football globally. By supporting this motion, the Brighton & Hove City Council is leading the way in helping to support and grow women’s football.

Not only will this boost the local economy – something that the club has helped to do it in the past – but it is also sure to be a great sign for aspiring female footballers that the game is here to stay.

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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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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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