Gambling Community Benefit Fund encouraged by Football Queensland to improve facilities

Avatar
Image via PxHere

The Gambling Community Benefit Fund’s (GCBF) second round of applications for 2024 are open until April 30.

Ran by the Queensland Government, it has been supported by Football Queensland to encourage applicants to get involved in the state’s largest one-off community grants program which distributes approximately $60 million each year.

The GCBF supports groups across the state which provide services, leisure activities and opportunities throughout Queensland’s diverse and extensive communities. In 2024, the first round of funding has already occurred, with the grant sum total of $35,000. Round 121, the one in which Football Queensland fall within, are entitled to grants of $100,000. Round 121 is rightly named in recognition of the 30th Anniversary, dubbed as a super round.

The funding granted by the GCBF can enable clubs across Queensland to invest in a vast variety of Football related aspects including training, coaching, and player development, while also providing funds for facility improvement and creation. Furthermore, the money can also lead to the creation of community events in that will drive youth participation, similar to the Melburnian Boys and Girls FC event held in Bendigo.

In relation to this grant, Football Queensland renewed their partnership with Felton Industries who are Australia’s primary designer of aluminium outdoor based furniture. They are currently the official seating, shelter and grandstands partner of Football Queensland, and have joined the entity in providing their services to clubs in need of grandstands, clubrooms, clubroom furniture or upgrades in facilities.

The two organisations renewed their existing agreement for a further two years in February. Chief Executive Operator of Football Queensland Robert Cavallucci stated his approval of the Felton Industries partnership, claiming how it compliments Football Queensland’s 2023-2026 strategic plan – ensuring that “there are no barriers to participation and clubs are provided with high-quality infrastructure”.

With the 100k grant coming from the GCBF for the Queensland community, both parties within the partnership are able to benefit.

Football Queensland will continue to comply with its strategic plan through the yearly improvement of its footballing facilities across the state. Felton Industries will provide those required upgrades with all the manufacturing process occurring in Australia.

From all aspects, the partnership all attributes to the growth and nourishment of Football within Queensland, therefore only raising the quality amongst it.

For full information on GCBF and to apply, you can find it here: https://www.justice.qld.gov.au/initiatives/community-grants

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
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

Avatar
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.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend