Rebel Sport teams up with Auckland FC

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Image credit: Top Athletes NZ Instagram

Auckland FC and Rebel Sport have entered into a partnership that will make the renowned Kiwi sports retailer the club’s new sponsor for training kits and the AFC development centre.

As New Zealand’s hub for sports, Rebel Sport is dedicated to motivating all Kiwis to engage in sports, particularly by fostering participation at the grassroots level. This partnership represents one of the ways the company demonstrates its commitment to supporting both professional and community sports.

The Rebel Sport logo will be featured on all Auckland FC training kits worn by players and coaching staff, and Auckland FC players will be featured in Rebel Sport promotions across stores, online platforms, and broadcasts.

This year, Rebel Sport introduced a new Grants program available to grassroots sports clubs. Additionally, the company sponsors three young women through the Tania Dalton Scholarship Programme, including footballer Farina Anchico. These initiatives reflect the company’s commitment to encouraging and supporting greater Kiwi participation in sports.

Rebel Sport Managing Director, Rod Duke, expressed his delight about this deal.

“We’re delighted to be there from the start to help launch Auckland FC. We stand behind grass-roots sports as a business and we’re proud to help provide pathways for up-and-coming kiwi football talent through the Rebel Sports AFC Development Centre,” he said via press release.

“This is a partnership that we are excited to be a part of. The momentum and excitement that surrounds Auckland FC, and not just in Auckland, is phenomenal. With so much excitement and so many people playing football it offers a lot of opportunities for both brands.”

Auckland FC CEO, Nick Becker, expressed pride in joining forces with Rebel Sport for their inaugural season as both the training kit sponsor and talent development partner.

“Rebel Sport are an iconic New Zealand business who are passionate about football and helping to create talent pathways for young footballers. They have been at the forefront of NZ sporting business and have helped to inspire many generations of talented sports stars,” he said via the clubs website.

“Right from the first conversation, Rebel Sport have shown that we both have aligned values and the partnership feels very true to who we are as a club that is embedded in the local football community.

“It is a fantastic partnership, and it is great to see our players training and out in the community wearing their Rebel branded kit.”

Football is rapidly growing in popularity across the country, with over 165,000 registered players. Furthermore, 17% of those aged 5-17 have played football within the past week.

With only over a month remaining until the 20th anniversary of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men commences, Auckland FC are making a strong statement by partnering up with major companies for their first season who want to enhance community involvement through sports.

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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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