Geylang International FC and City Football Group agree to collaboration

Virag Toth24/02/2023 5:55 am23/02/2023

Image credit: Geylang International

Singapore Premier League club Geylang International FC have recently signed a collaboration agreement with City Football Group, owner of English Premier League Champions Manchester City FC.

The deal is set to extend the development of the Singapore-based club, laying the foundations for further strategic and comprehensive partnerships in the future.

It marks the first ever collaboration of City Football Group with a club in southeast Asia. It is set to provide Geylang International with the company’s world class football knowledge, global network, technology, expertise and practices – in turn improving the structure, operations, development and strategies of the Singaporean club.

Geylang International, once Geylang United before reverting back to their original name in 2013, have several trophies under their belt, having won six back-to-back titles in the National Football League between 1975 and 1977, and then another six in the Premier League from 1988 to 1993. Famous players who have represented the club include former Iranian internationals Hamid Estili and Mohammad Khakpour, and Singapore Golden Boy Fandi Ahmad.

Established in 2013, City Football Group have grown to become a renowned company, owning major football-related business in cities across the globe, including clubs, academies, technical support systems and marketing companies. Aside from the household name Manchester City FC, City Football Group are also the owners or partial owners of 11 other clubs, including Melbourne FC in Australia, New York City FC in the USA and Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan.

Already the partnership has seen tangible benefits for Geylang International, as the club announced the signing of Japanese attacker Yushi Yamaya, with the forward set to play a key part in the upcoming 2023 Singapore Premier League season. A former academy player for Yokohama F. Marinos, City Football Group scouted the player through their Group Football Operations department, as well as providing detailed briefs and background to Geylang International’s Coaching Staff during the signing process.

Among the other opportunities and plans for development that are set to take place following the agreement, City Football Group will assist the club in improving its network and connections with players, clubs and academies across the many countries and cities the company are well-established in.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Patrick Irving16/04/2026 8:55 am16/04/2026

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

Patrick Irving15/04/2026 6:05 am14/04/2026

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.