F.S. Garside Park unveiled after multi-million transformation

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Image credit: Football NSW website

F.S. Garside Park has completed its transformation into a multi-purpose facility, after receiving $17 million in funding from the NSW Government.

The park had to be closed in 2019 to remediate the site after finding contaminated soil and therefore allow construction work to occur as part of this project.

This was also the home of Football NSW League Two Men’s side Granville Rage.

Out of the $17 million the NSW Government funded to remediate and upgrade F.S. Garside Park:

  • $12 million came from the Parramatta Road Urban Amenity Improvement Program (PRUAIP)
  • $5 million came from the NSW Government’s Accelerated Infrastructure Fund

The popular North Granville Park has also introduced new facilities to the area such as:

  • A semi-professional level soccer field and grandstand suitable to hold ticketed sporting events
  • Multi-use sports court with lighting, seating, shelter and a drinking station
  • District-sized playground with nature play climbing structures, flying fox, swings and play tower
  • Picnic facilities and BBQs
  • BMX pump track
  • Fitness equipment

Ms Gail Connoly PSM, City of Parramatta chief executive, said it marks a new era for the North Granville community:

“This park is for everyone – it’s a new chapter for F.S. Garside and we’re excited to see it fully restored for a new generation of young families and people to enjoy,” she said in a media release.

“This project is the benchmark for site remediation – righting the wrongs of the past and creating a vibrant space that is safe to explore.”

Paul Scully, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, said regarding the reopening of F.S. Garside Park:

“This former landfill site has been transformed with more than 15,600 tonnes of contaminated soil removed to create an outstanding facility to be enjoyed by the broader North Granville community for generations to come,” Minister Scully said in a media release.

“The new public open spaces will make sure F.S. Garside Park becomes the local centrepiece for community sport and a place for families to come together to enjoy the outdoors.”

Football NSW also commented about the return of F.S. Garside Park into the football community:

“Football NSW looks forward to welcoming the historic venue back into the fold,” they said in a media release.

“Following on from this year’s wet season that we’ve recently experienced, a brand-new facility with a quality surface, drainage and irrigation is welcomed by football.

“Facilities of this nature will assist in reducing the number of games washed out in the future such is the positive impact the recent refurb to F.S. Garside will have on the football community.”

F.S. Garside Park’s sporting field will remain closed as the grass establishes roots and is expected to open to the public in late 2024.

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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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