Aston Villa signs kit agreement with Adidas for 2024-25 season

Daniel Sedlarevic17/01/2024 6:05 am17/01/2024

Image credit: charnsitr / Shutterstock.com

Aston Villa have signed a lucrative new kit agreement with Adidas, taking over from Castore next season.

Villa are now in their second season with British company Castore, having signed a multi-year contract in 2022, but will switch to the heavyweight German manufacturer in 2024/25 after reaching a long-term agreement.

Adidas will provide uniforms for Villa’s men’s and women’s teams, as well as academy sides, under the terms of the agreement.

Villa, whose Egyptian co-owner Nassef Sawiris controls around 7% of Adidas, has been considering ending their relationship with Castore since early in the 2023-24 season.

The manufacture swap, arranged by the club’s head of commercial operations, Chris Heck, follows reservations from the players over this season’s ‘wet-look’ Castore jersey.

Members of Villa’s men’s and women’s teams complained that the jerseys had gotten too heavy during matches, weighting them down and potentially affecting performance.

The shirt controversy began in pre-season, when players complained that the jersey, which was comprised of 90% polyester and 10% elastane, was “saturated” and incapable of absorbing perspiration effectively. Last month, Villa took delivery of new shirts from Castore which the manufacturer hoped would not have the same saturation issue. It has been less prevalent as the weather has grown colder.

It is unclear whether the contract was originally supposed to expire at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, or if Villa used a get-out option in the contract, as rival Premier League side Newcastle United did earlier this season.

Newcastle have said they will return to Adidas for the 2024-25 season, having previously collaborated with Castore since the start of the 2021-22 season.

Aston Villa currently sit third in the Premier League with two points behind leaders Liverpool, their next game will be a home game against Newcastle and will wear the Castore kits for the remainder of the season.

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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.