Singapore Premier League extends title sponsorship with AIA

Daniel Foley04/03/2021 8:00 am03/03/2021

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS), has announced that life insurance company AIA Singapore will continue to be the title sponsor of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) until at least 2022.

In the new agreement, AIA have the option to continue their sponsorship for a further three years after the 2022 season – they’ve been partners of the SPL since 2019.

Through the extended sponsorship deal, FAS and AIA are set to involve the SPL with some of AIA’s global ambassadors and partners such as Tottenham Hotspur – AIA are the official shirt sponsor of the London-based club.

The FAS announced that it would be exploring potential opportunities such as having community football clinics for youth players conducted by Tottenham coaches, SPL footballers and FAS coaching staff.

Local Singapore coaches will also be given the opportunity to attend coaching seminars run by Hotspur’s Global Development coaches.

“We are delighted to be able to continue working with AIA Singapore, who have displayed steadfast commitment to lifting local football standards since becoming the title sponsor of the SPL two years ago,” FAS President Mr Lim Kia Tong said.

“This partnership has certainly helped to improve the vibrancy of the Singapore football scene not just from the perspective of our professional league but also in various other aspects such as coaching.

“It is heartening to be able to strengthen our relationship with AIA Singapore and have their continued unwavering support, particularly in these challenging times in an uncertain economic climate.”

The SPL and AIA will also be collaborating to hand out the AIA Player of the Month and AIA Young Player of the Month during the season. This goes alongside the end of season AIA Player of the Year award.

“AIA’s strong ties with football through our global partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Spurs) makes supporting local football a natural choice and we are pleased to extend our existing partnership with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS),” AIA Singapore Chief Executive Officer Wong Sze Keed said.

The 2021 SPL season is scheduled to kick off on March 13, 2021.

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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.