Football Australia’s Play Football campaign to inspire next generation

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Play Football
Image via Football Australia

With Australian football heading into the most significant 12 months in its history, the country’s Socceroos and Matildas stars have united to help deliver Football Australia’s Play Football campaign, in an effort to nurture future national team players.

The Subway Socceroos are set to embark on their fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup (sixth overall) when they take to the field in Qatar during November, and the CommBank Matildas are perched to take the country by storm next July and August as Australia co-hosts the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

Football is already the most diverse and inclusive sport in Australia, with programs and competitions catering for everyone irrespective of ability, age, gender, race, and religion.

It’s also the number one team participation sport across in Australia, with over one and a half million people enjoying the many benefits that football can deliver including camaraderie, community, friendship, and teamwork, not to mention improved physical and mental health.

With Australians set to be inspired by the feats of the world’s greatest footballers, Football Australia has launched its 2022/23 Play Football campaign, which will help connect people – young and old – with their local football team and an array of football programs and competitions.

Upon launching this Play Football campaign, Football Australia Chief Executive Officer, James Johnson said in a statement:

“Already acclaimed as the largest team-based participation sport in Australia, this particular Play Football campaign presents a unique opportunity to further ignite interest in football participation in Australia, as the Subway Socceroos embark on their quest at the FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar 2022TM and the CommBank Matildas prepare for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 on home soil.”

“Whether it’s as a player, coach, referee, or volunteer, football truly is a sport for all, and we look forward to seeing even more football fields and futsal courts across Australia full of people having fun and enjoying all the benefits of our great game.”

Fronting Football Australia’s Play Football campaign are current CommBank Matildas’ Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter plus Subway Socceroos’ Awer Mabil and Andrew Redmayne, where each has experienced their own unique journey from grassroots football to the biggest stage in world football.

In this campaign, CommBank Matildas’ captain Sam Kerr explained via press release why Australians should Play Football:

“There’s nothing quite like the fun and freedom of playing football in a team with all your friends. It’s such a special feeling, no matter where I’m playing around the world, the buzz I experience playing football with my teammates is always the same. Football has provided me with some of my best memories and friends, I would encourage everyone to find a club and experience this for themselves.”

The Socceroos 26-strong squad for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is the most diverse ever selected, reflecting Australia’s multicultural makeup. For the first time ever, four footballers of African heritage will feature in the same Socceroos’ squad including fan favourites, Awer Mabil and Garang Kuol.

“I have been lucky that football has taken me to many parts of the world and provided me with so many opportunities. Most of all though, it has given me enjoyment. Nothing makes me as happy as playing football with my teammates. Football is a game for anyone, at any time in their life, so get out there and sign up to your local club, you will never look back!,” Mabil added via press release.

Football Australia’s Play Football marketing campaign features a 30-second television commercial, digital and social media content, out of home creative and other assets which will support the promotion of why even more Australians should Play Football in 2023 and beyond.

Join the team at www.playfootball.com.au

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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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