Football West and Persebaya Surabaya FC sign three-year MoU

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Image credit: Football West

Football West and Persebaya Surabaya FC have formalised their partnership by signing a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking a significant step in their collaboration.

The agreement was signed by Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell and Persebaya Surabaya CEO Azrul Ananda in the presence of Western Australia’s Minister for Sport and Recreation, David Templeman.

This MoU sets the foundation for a talent development and exchange program between Football West, the governing body of football in Western Australia, and Persebaya Surabaya FC, one of Indonesia’s top-tier football clubs.

As part of the agreement, plans are already in motion for Persebaya’s senior team to visit Western Australia next year. The club, currently leading Liga 1, Indonesia’s top football league, will participate in various football-related activities.

Football West’s relationship with Persebaya Surabaya dates back to 2018 when the Indonesian club’s youth team visited Perth for a three-match tour. The following year, Football West reciprocated by sending an Under 19 State team to Surabaya, where the visit was also a success.

Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell spoke in length on the importance of this partnership and their connection to Indonesia.

“Football West is delighted to renew our relationship with Persebaya Surabaya and we look forward to creating sporting and cultural opportunities through our shared love of football,” he said in a press release.

“Indonesia is a natural sporting partner for WA. Football is the No1 sport in Indonesia and we know from when we took our team to Surabaya in 2019 that they love Australian football.

“It has been a pleasure to host Azrul and his team this week, showing them several venues including the Sam Kerr Football Centre. We have had strong discussions about what we can achieve and it is very exciting.

“Football West’s Asian Engagement Strategy is a pillar of our Strategic Plan and this Memorandum of Understanding shows how committed we are in this area. We would like to thank Minister Templeman and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries for their ongoing support for Football West in developing these relations,” he concluded.

Azrul Ananda, President of Persebaya Surabaya shared the same sentiment  about the extension of the partnership.

“We are happy to finally be able to continue our collaboration with Football West,” he said in a press release.

“During several days in Perth, the Persebaya management team has received much information regarding a visit from the Persebaya senior team in July 2025 for mini training camps and other cultural activities.

“Thank you to Jamie Harnwell and friends at Football West, Western Australia Sport and Recreation Minister Mr David Templeman, and Consulate General of Indonesia Mrs Listiana Operananta for their big support.

“We believe that the agreement between Persebaya and Football West over the next three years will strengthen people-to-people relationships between the people of East Java and Western Australia.”

This MoU signifies a deepening relationship between football organisations in Western Australia and Indonesia.

It creates an official platform for talent sharing and the development of players, coaches, and officials through exchange programs.

By facilitating visits and collaborative activities, the partnership also promotes cultural understanding between the two regions.

This deal is very important for Western Australian football and its attempt to expand their Asian representation.

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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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