Real Betis launches sustainability platform

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La Liga club Real Betis Balompié have launched a sustainability platform titled ‘Forever Green’ in order to fight against climate change.

The Forever Green program encourages companies and institutions to join up with Real Betis and show the world how they will commit to contributing to the future of the planet. Companies who sign up to the program will get the chance to work in collaboration with Real Betis on sustainability projects.

There are five areas to the Forever Green program – Climate change, recycling, mobility, nature and sustainability.

Real Betis has taken several steps in order to contribute to sustainability such as its to support of the Orosi Wind Farm in Costa Rica, an emissions reduction project.

The club also joined Amazon’s ‘The Climate Change Pledge’ which focuses on decarbonization via real changes and innovation.

Real Betis’ home ground, Benito Villamarín Stadium has had an LED lighting system installed while solar panels are also planned to be implemented at the ground.

“We want to be the most sustainable football club in the planet,” Real Betis President, Ángel Haro said at a presentation on Thursday for the Forever Green commitment.

“Taking advantage of our colours we want to be the greenest club, because we were green in the past, because we are green today and what’s most important, we want to continue being green forever because our children deserve this.”

In 2019, Real Betis became the first football club to commit to the United Nations’ ‘Climate Neutral Now’ initiative. This initiative involves organisations reducing their carbon footprints and offsetting carbon through certified projects.

“Like COVID-19, climate change is not something we will be able to forget about because it will impact all part our lives not least in the world of football.” Manager for the Global Climate Action team in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, Niclas Svenningsen said at the presentation when speaking about climate change’s effect on football.

“Already today we see games being cancelled because of extreme weather, we see players suffering from exhaustion from heatwaves and we see audiences unable to follow their favourite teams in the way they want because of climate change impacts.”

The presentation was also attended by Spanish Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen. The President of La Liga, Javier Tebas, Real Betis Claudio Bravo player and Sally Fouts, from Climate Pledge Amazon also participated in the event via video messages and calls.

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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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