Professional Footballers Australia to host first Agents Conference in over two years

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The PFA
Image provided by Professional Footballers Australia

For the first time in two years, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) will host its annual PFA Agents Conference at its Melbourne headquarters.

Australian player agents and leading experts from the football industry will convene on September 30 for the 2022 Conference, which provides the opportunity for accredited player agents to discuss areas of shared importance and the management of talent within football.

Confirmed speakers include the Managing Director of the Australian Professional Leagues Danny Townsend, human rights lawyer and CEO of sport and social impact organisation Athlead Kat Craig, FIFPRO Legal Director Roy Vermeer, PFA Co-Chief Executives Beau Busch and Kathryn Gill and PFA staff.

The Conference is an annual initiative between the PFA and the Australian Football Agents Association (AFAA), with the 2022 Conference covering topics impacting both agents and the management of professional players, including:

  • Agent regulations and reforms;
  • The International Transfer Market;
  • Training compensation;
  • Player welfare and development;
  • Domestic legal update;
  • Athlete abuse and safeguarding;
  • An overview of the Australian Professional Leagues’ vision and strategy; and
  • A summary of the 2021-2026 A-Leagues collective bargaining agreement

PFA Co-Chief Executive Kathryn Gill said in a PFA statement:

“The conference is a wonderful opportunity for agents, players and professional clubs to collaborate on issues impacting the global football industry and to have everyone in the same room after two years will provide a productive platform.

“For the football industry to thrive, regular and transparent dialogue on the major issues and regulations within the sport are required, particularly if we are to drive further professionalism within the sport and safeguard players’ welfare and rights.”

Vice President of the AFAA Boris Ivanov said via PFA:

“We are very excited that we will once again be able to meet with colleagues, members of the PFA, the APL and other professionals in the football industry in person to discuss, learn and debate some of the key issues impacting the game and in particular players and their representatives.

“I encourage every football intermediary to make the time to attend the conference, ideally in person, but if that’s not possible then online. The learnings from these conferences are invaluable and in future will potentially form part of the continuous education and development programs that will be required to maintain accreditation.”

The 2021 edition was postponed last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, before being held online. This Conference in September will be held in person at the PFA offices in West Melbourne.

Accredited agents can sign up to attend the conference here.

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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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