Sutherland Shire Football Association welcomes improved drainage for Harrie Dening Centre

Staff Writer13/06/2023 5:55 am12/06/2023

Image credit: Football NSW

Sutherland Shire Football Association (SSFA) have received $127,960 as part of the NSW Football Legacy Fund – Round 1.

The funding goes towards a project that will include installation of new drainage and irrigation, plus water tanks for Field 1 at Sutherland Shire’s home of football.

This development is part of a wider facilities upgrade valued at over one million, allowing the first full hybrid pitches to be created at the community level.

Playing surfaces will directly benefit from this grant, promoting greater participation all year round, with the higher quality of surface to hold up better during different weather conditions.

Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce was delighted at this investment.

“Everyone will benefit!” he said in a statement.

“We have one of the largest participation bases in the southern hemisphere and you need to live the Shire to actually be registered here. All those kids and everyone in the Shire will benefit.”

SSFA President Matt Brady outlined that relationships with council are crucial to making positive steps forward for the game.

“You can’t not have council on your side. You need to work collaborative with council, local and state government. We have a very strong relationship with our council and councillors,” he added via press release.

“The only way we can get this sort of funding, and we have been trying for a long time is through the communication, assistance and guidance that council and state government provide to us.”

The project will pave the way for greater participation, better facilities and more involvement from the community as a whole.

Leading up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, additions such as improved drainage will cater for the influx of girls and females needing a reliable and safe place to play.

The infrastructure developments at Harrie Dening will give SSFA the ability and confidence to cater for the large female numbers today and even more females in the future.

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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.

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

Declan Chan15/04/2026 6:15 am14/04/2026

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.