Football Australia partners with Penguin Random House

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Football Australia
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In the lead in to a massive 12 months for Australian football, Penguin Random House Australia (Puffin) has acquired an eight-book publishing program with Football Australia to promote football and the Australian senior national teams, the Socceroos and CommBank Matildas.

The eight-book publishing program for young readers includes junior fiction, non-fiction, board books and a picture book, with something to engage and entertain every junior football fan. In addition, it will feature CommBank Matildas and Socceroos players who are set to partake in World Cups over the coming year.

The first book in a four-book junior fiction series in partnership with the Matildas and Socceroos is set to publish on August 30, with book two slated for release on December 29. Penned by author and broadcast journalist Kristin Darell, the series will follow the ups and downs of a talented junior team.

Holly Toohey – Head of Brands, Partnerships and Audio Director at Penguin Random House Australia – said the following in a statement via Football Australia:

“We are so thrilled that Puffin will be the publishing home of football in Australia. The sense of passion and excitement that surrounds the CommBank Matildas and Socceroos, as well as football at a grassroots level in Australia, is incredible. It’s these emotions that have formed the inspiration for our expansive publishing program.”

Football Australia CEO James Johnson added via Football Australia:

“Football is the largest and fastest-growing team sport in Australia and, in working with Penguin Random House, we will be able to reach a diverse audience that will help us to inspire young children across the country to get involved with our great game and support our beloved senior national teams.”

The CommBank Matildas were crowned Australia’s favourite sporting team in 2019 and their popularity boomed during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when they became Australia’s most-watched women’s sporting team in television history, with a record-breaking 1,468,747 viewers tuning in across the nation to watch them take on Sweden. Meanwhile, on June 15 of this year, the Socceroos qualified for a fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout against Peru, with media from around the world and at home celebrating the team’s success.

The books will feature current Australian squad members, including Ellie Carpenter, Mary Fowler and Joel King plus respective national team captains, Sam Kerr and Mathew Ryan.

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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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