Musgrave SC reaches funding goal for Football Queensland’s Community Heart Program

Staff Writer

Musgrave Soccer Club has become the latest beneficiary of Football Queensland’s Community Heart Program.

The scheme provides life-saving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the FQ community, helping to ensure the safety of match-goers and staff in case of a heart-related emergency.

Hitting their fundraising goal on Tuesday, the club joins Sunshine Coast FC, Galton Redbacks, and Robina City Soccer Club in reaching their target, passing $2,499 in total donations.

It’s a point of pride for President Michelle Shultz, and an achievement the club is celebrating.

“Everyone was really pleased,” Shultz told Soccerscene.

“It’s something you hope that you never have to use but it’s something we wanted to make sure we had. All the members were really supportive and wanting to help achieve it.”

It has been reported that every year, over 33,000 Australians go into cardiac arrest. Many of these cases occur without immediate access to a hospital or medical care, and only an estimated 9% of people survive.

Having access to an AED increases the likelihood of survival by up to 600%. The program aims to increase the whole community’s safety and keep those numbers low.

“You not only think of your own members, but the entire football community,” Shultz said.

“You hope you never have to use it but if you do, you’ve got it there to help anyone in the community. It’s a good feel that you can help out.

“The program includes 15 people to be trained in your club at a free cost to learn how to use it. It’s something that has brought it to our attention – that we should have more people who understand how to use CPR and things like that. We’re also organising a first aid course in our club at the moment.”

Shultz encourages every other club still raising money to keep up their efforts.

“Every general meeting we’ve had, we’ve mentioned that if everyone could support it, every cent could save a life,” she said.

“We had plenty of members either range from $10 to over $100 donated. It’s making people realise that you don’t have to donate $50.

“If you have 300 members and everyone put in $10 that’s $3000 straight away. It’s not like everyone needs to have a huge amount, but it’s something that can help. If it can save a life, how important is it?”

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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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