NSW Sporting Schools Program Driving Record Football Growth

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Image credit: Master1305 / Shutterstock.com

Football NSW has completed a landmark year through the Australian Sports Commission’s Sporting Schools Program, marking a significant moment in football growth. The result reinforces football as the leading sport delivered in schools across New South Wales.

The Sporting Schools Program is a government-funded initiative that boosts children’s participation in sport and links schools to local community sporting organisations, fostering football’s growth. Delivered nationally across more than 40 sports, the program provides schools with grants, equipment and professional support. These resources help schools deliver high-quality and engaging sporting experiences.

Throughout the year, Football NSW delivered 230 programs across NSW schools, this total included 180 coach-led programs and 50 teacher-led programs. Together, they accounted for 3,186 hours and 133 days of football activity. Participation levels, showcasing football growth, remained strong, with 24,687 students engaging in sessions statewide.

Growth, Workforce and National Recognition

Workforce development remained central to the program’s success. Football NSW onboarded 50 new coaches during the year, which has been a key factor in the football growth strategy. It also delivered five coaching courses to strengthen technical knowledge, safety practices and session delivery. All education aligned with Football Australia and Football NSW standards.

Local football associations played a crucial role in delivery. Associations supported the program by deploying their own accredited coaches into schools. This collaboration strengthened pathways between schools and community football environments, boosting football growth in these areas.

Football’s impact also reached a national milestone, in Term 2, 2025, football ranked as the number one Sporting Schools provider in Australia, highlighting football growth nationwide. This recognition highlighted the program’s scale, quality and reach.

Sporting Schools football sessions focus on fun, inclusion and introduction to the game. Sessions align with the MiniRoos philosophy and the Australian Curriculum, supporting football growth. They also provide clear and accessible pathways into community football participation.

Looking ahead, Football NSW continues to expand its school-based opportunities. These include women’s and girls’ clinics, futsal programs, coach education and targeted school support initiatives. With strong foundations in place, Football NSW is well positioned to kick off 2026 with even greater momentum, driving football’s growth forward.

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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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