Mathew Ryan among the latest names to pledge support for #BreakTheChain

Liam Watson

Australian Socceroos and Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, along with China PR’s women’s team captain Wu Haiyan and India and Kerala Blasters’ defender Sandesh Jhingan, are the latest names featured in the new #BreakTheChain video.

#BreakTheChain is the campaign that has continued to highlight the need to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of fans have been engaged through the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) series since its launch on 26th March 2020, with close to 100 Asian players and officials offering messages of solidarity in the public awareness campaign and ensuring we stand by the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.

“All of us need to show strength in these difficult times. We have all seen how this outbreak has impacted so many lives, but all of us have it within ourselves to break the chain,” said Mat Ryan – one of Asia’s finest goalkeepers who has featured in the last two editions of the FIFA World Cup for the Socceroos and part of the AFC Asian Cup title on home soil in 2015.

“Our healthcare professionals are our greatest source of inspiration at the moment and we must continue to support them.

“This is a crucial time for the world to unite, to showcase the best of humanity and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our families, our neighbours, our communities and our future generations by preventing the spread of this virus.”

Wu Haiyan, who skippered the Steel Roses in the Canada 2015 and France 2019 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup is another player who has shared her message.

“Football has changed my whole life. As all footballers, we miss the days when football was around. We are facing unprecedented and difficult times, but there are still many heroes working around the clock in service to others, so we need to offer our strength towards assisting them,” she said.

“I am glad to offer my voice as one of the Asian footballers. Not only for ourselves and our families, but for the football world, follow the advice of medical experts and local medical authorities. We need to be united and defeat our common opponent. Let’s break the chain together!”

The AFC’s #BreakTheChain campaign has brought together some of Asia’s finest from all across the continent. It proves there’s a huge wave of support and generosity demonstrated by the ever-growing initiatives undertaken by the AFC Member Associations, NGOs and various stakeholders in Asian football.

You can find a link to the latest #BreakTheChain video here: https://www.the-afc.com/videos/afc-s-breakthechain-campaign-x7895

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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.

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

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