Ross Reserve Athletics set for practical completion

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Image credit: SPORTENG

SPORTENG, in collaboration with the City of Greater Dandenong Council, confirmed that Ross Reserve Athletics is set for practical completion – which involves a brand new synthetic turf football pitch.

In 2021, the Greater Dandenong council announced a mega upgrade of Ross Reserve Athletics in the form of a sporting hub that would feature a brand-new pavilion, swimming complex and skate park on top of the new synthetic turf pitch.

The project included installation of a synthetic grass soccer pitch complete with fencing, two coaches’ boxes and competition grade lighting allowing for night matches and training.

SPORTENG is a leading Australian engineering company creating quality sports facilities to enhance the sporting experience. The company, which started in 2015, have completed 805 projects and were chosen by the City of Greater Dandenong to oversee this huge project.

Using a connection with surface system company Tuff Group, they were able to develop the high quality pitch that will be the home ground for State League 4 side Springvale City Soccer Club who will hugely benefit from an upgraded pitch and facility.

Tuff Group have used VMAX50 Synthetic Turf to design the synthetic pitch after significant collaboration with end users such as football clubs and education facilities to create the perfect football or multipurpose surface.

This system utilises a dual-yarn composition that minimises infill splash whilst ensuring the playing surface is consistent, durable, and of elite quality no matter the circumstance.

VMAX50 is FIFA certified and has a history of providing quality and performance which is an asset.

Greater Dandenong currently takes charge of 14 football fields across the area and have been pretty active in securing major upgrades. In late 2023, they got funding for a $700,000 LED lighting upgrade at George Andrews Reserve, home of Dandenong Thunder.

The overall goal was to create facilities that would initiate a rise in participation and the new pitch along with the other grass fields will help Springvale City Soccer Club’s junior system, giving them a space to use in close proximity to the home ground.

It is an exciting upgrade for Springvale City Soccer Club and other local teams who will be able to play in night matches at Ross Reserve’s new synthetic turf pitch following this important upgrade.

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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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