Sydenham Park pioneers All-Abilities football in the North-West

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Image credit: Football Victoria

Sydenham Park SC is proud to launch the North-West’s first All Abilities football program, a fresh chance for everyone in the community to enjoy the game together.

With community support and dedicated volunteers, the program is making football more accessible in Brimbank and Melton.

When Christina Santa Maria couldn’t find a football program that suited her son’s needs, she decided to create one herself, becoming the driving force behind Sydenham’s All Abilities program.

“I initiated the program due to the lack of All Abilities programs in the Western Suburbs,” she explained via Football Victoria statement.

“As a mother of a neurodiverse child, having a sport that is accommodating to him is very important.

“Choosing Sydenham Park was an easy decision. My family are already part of the club. With great facilities, a strong junior program, and being just 20 minutes from home, it was the perfect fit.”

Driven by a shared commitment to inclusivity, Sera Fanous, the club’s MiniRoos and Junior Coordinator, worked alongside Football Victoria to help bring the program to life.

After months of chatting with families, partnering with local services, and gaining support from NDIS providers and Brimbank Council, the program finally launched on June 28, a moment of joy for everyone involved.

“The goal was always to create a safe, inclusive, and enjoyable space where people of all abilities could enjoy soccer,” she said via Football Victoria statement.

“One of the biggest benefits has been watching the players smile. The friendships, confidence, and sense of belonging this program has brought are incredible.”

Although the beginnings were tough, to earn that trust and recognition, the program has gone from strength to strength with the club and community working hand in hand.

“The support we’ve received from Football Victoria, especially Selin Arpaci and the All-Abilities team, has been outstanding,” she continued to say.

“Their guidance and belief in the program helped us get off the ground.”

What started as a small training session has blossomed into a friendly, welcoming community where everyone feels included, and now other clubs are taking note.

For more information about all-abilities football programs in Victoria, contact FV All-Abilities at: allabilities@footballvictoria.com.au or 03 9474 1824.

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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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