Victorian Government grants available for grassroots sports clubs affected by restrictions

Liam Watson

The Victorian Government is delivering further support towards grassroots sports clubs and members with new payments as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

Grants of $2,000 are now available for clubs hit hard by restrictions as part of the Victorian lockdown due to COVID-19 cases in the state.

As part of the Sporting Club Grants Program, funding is obtainable for clubs that have incurred costs that cannot be recouped due to cancelled or postponed events, activities and competitions. The associated costs include cancellation fees for facilities, coaches and officials, as well as loss of perishable goods and booking fees.

Previous grant recipients include Central Victoria Swimming who received $2,000 towards recouping event costs for program printing and medals and trophies after their two-day carnival was cancelled.

Park Orchards Basketball Club received $2,000 towards hall hire and registration costs associated with the cancellation of their 3 x 3 Hustle tournament. Mount Prospect District Tennis Association received $2,000 for catering and court preparation costs after two of its events were cancelled.

The Sporting Club Grants Program forms part of the Government’s initiative to make sport more accessible and inclusive, stimulate local economies, build sustainable sport and recreation and volunteer opportunities, while increasing overall local participation.

It is recommended that grassroots clubs and organisations are to apply as soon as possible.

Since 2014, the Victorian Government has provided more than 8,100 sporting club grants totalling more than $12 million to clubs across the state.

The Victorian Government has also allocated more than $30 million to clubs, leagues, state associations and other organisations from the Community Sport Sector COVID-19 Short-Term Survival Package.

More details and how to apply can be accessed here.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
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

Avatar
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.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend