NED University defends athletics track in Karachi Soccer City

Nick Scialpi03/02/2022 5:55 am02/02/2022

Pakistan’s first ‘soccer city stadium’ has now included the addition of an athletics track in the scheme.

As reported in early January, Karachi is set to receive the stadium through a deal that was agreed in association with the planned formation of a new football league in the country. Global Soccer Ventures (GSV), which is behind the new league, entered into a 10-year deal with the Karachi-based NED University of Engineering & Technology (NED) for the stadium project.

Footballing icon Michael Owen is involved in the project as a brand ambassador of GSV, and the former England international travelled to Pakistan to be part of a series of announcements for the revelations.

However, some aspects of the plans have come under scrutiny due to the presence of an athletics track raising questions of how it will offer a football-specific experience.

Athletics tracks may not be football-related by any stretch of the imagination, however you do see them in many different football stadiums around the world and they can prove very resourceful for a nation.

For example, the Stadio Olimpico, home to Serie A clubs AS Roma and Lazio, is predominantly a football stadium that has been around since 1927, but the athletics track inside it has proved extremely resourceful to the nation of Italy, as it is the most used stadium in the country for athletic and Olympic tournaments.

The stadium has a massive capacity of over 70,000 and with the athletics track included, has become one of the more noticeable and attractive stadiums in the world.

Whilst the critique of an athletics track at the proposed Karachi stadium is understandable, it could be a variant that might see it become more attractive and familarised worldwide.

NED University vice-chancellor, Dr Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi:

“The (athletics) track is valuable to us,” he said.

“We are engineers and we will build engineering solutions around it.

“There are regulations that have been followed for public-private partnerships, the facility will be ours but it will operate on joint-usage with it being handed to the GSV during the PFL.”

The new football league in Pakistan is expected to be introduced with just six teams, which was unveiled by GSV last year.

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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.