Works underway for South Australia’s new home of football

Liam Watson

Construction of a new world-class State Centre at Gepps Cross has officially commenced, to provide opportunities for grassroots through to elite participation.

The $24 million project represents an exciting new chapter for South Australian football. Football SA President Sam Ciccarello and Football SA CEO Michael Carter were joined by the Hon. Corey Wingard MP at the sites location.

As the new facility will cater for all levels of the sport, it will offer a game-changer for anyone looking to get involved.

“The State Centre of Football will play a key role in this bid as a world-class training facility and going forward it will also have the capacity to facilitate FFA Cup matches and other national and international training and events,” Minister Sport Recreation and Racing Corey Wingard said.

“I’m excited about the huge potential this project has to engage more people of all ages to play football which is part of our Game On strategy to get South Australians moving.

“The State Centre will form part of the State Sports Park which will become an integrated, multi-use community and elite sports hub that is greener, more accessible and more welcoming.”

The facility will be located in the north-east corner of the State Sports Park, adjacent to Briens Road. Its feature include the following:

  • One natural turf show pitch with 1,000 seat grandstand and 5,000 spectator capacity
  • Two full-size synthetic pitches
  • Six change rooms, referee change facilities and gymnasium
  • Ten 5-a-side pitches
  • Football South Australia Administration Headquarters
  • Football Museum
  • Kiosk, café and bar facilities

“This is a hallmark event for football in South Australia,” Football SA President Sam Ciccarello said.

“From its conceptualisation, to designing a venue for social, grassroots and tournament football, as well as providing for an impressive, modern administration building, the State Centre for Football will be an important realisation of Football SA establishing a home of football, while also enabling quality facilities that will be of benefit to our community.

“The Centre could only happen with significant investment from the state government and we express our gratitude and appreciation to the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing, the Hon Corey Wingard, and Premier Steven Marshall for their support.”

The project is managed and coordinated by Built Environs, where it’s expected that the works are completed in 52 weeks.

“This is a really exciting day for the game in the state. Infrastructure has been a key strategic driver for the organisation over the past 7 years,” Football SA CEO Michael Carter said.

“The State Centre for Football will be a great facility that will connect grassroots to the elite and importantly provide a home for social participants via the state’s first 5 A-Side venue. I look forward to seeing the development progress.”

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
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

Avatar
Image Credit: Shutterstock

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.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend