WA Government commit $2m to local sporting clubs through grants

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ACT Government grants
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The latest round of funding for the Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund (CSRFF) and Club Night Lights Program (CNLP) small grants has been confirmed.

These small grants, which range from $7,500 to $500,000, will support 25 community sport and recreation facilities with essential renovations, including upgrades to changing rooms, playing facilities, and venue lighting.

In this round, 12 applications were approved for CSRFF funding, while 13 were successful under the CNLP.

Some of the key projects funded in this latest round include:

  • $95,983 for the installation of a synthetic bowling green at the North Perth Bowling and Recreation Club
  • $200,000 for floodlighting upgrades at Usher Park, Kalgoorlie
  • $135,000 for the installation of 100 lux LED floodlighting at Ranford Oval, Canning
  • $129,690 for a heat pump installation at Bridgetown Swimming Pool

These projects represent a combined investment of over $2 million for 2024/25, underscoring a significant commitment to enhancing community sporting infrastructure across Western Australia.

This follows the 2023 announcement of an additional $15 million allocated to the CSRFF over two years, increasing the annual funding to $20 million. This highlights the State Government’s dedication to providing high-quality, sustainable, and accessible community facilities across WA.

The two grant systems have existed since 2018/19 and have worked with many shires and municipalities to develop grassroots sports in WA from Skate parks to stadium expansions for basketball stadiums.

For football, clubs such as Ranford FC who will enjoy a major lighting upgrade that will enable them to hold better, safer evening training sessions and potentially night games if necessary.

Whilst the other upgrades such as surface improvements and change rooms haven’t affected football using these grants, it opens up a possibility for clubs to request vital funding that they require.

Football West in their 2023-2026 Strategic Plan touched on the importance of grants to the local clubs as it pinpoints one of their key pillars being accessibility for kids and adults of all ages and financial backgrounds.

It’s important that football continues to get invested in as it continues to grow in popularity, particularly at the grassroots level. This investment ensures that clubs can accommodate more players, promote community engagement, and sustain the sport’s development across the country.

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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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