| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alistair Martin Edwards | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1968-06-21)21 June 1968 (age 56) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Whyalla,South Australia, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Johor Darul Ta'zim FC (CEO) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Kwinana United Soccer Club | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | FFA Centre of Excellence | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Rangers | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Sydney Olympic | 28 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | →Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990 | Singapore FA | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Johor | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Singapore FA | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | Selangor | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Millwall | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Sydney Olympic | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Sarawak | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2004 | Perth Glory | 93 | (24) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Australia U-20 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1997 | Australia | 19 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | Australia (non – 'A' cap intls.) | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Australia Women's U-20 (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Western Waves | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Australia Women's U-20 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | WA NTC | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Australia U-20 (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Australia U-17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Perth Glory (interim) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Perth Glory | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Real Mulia (technical director) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2022 | Johor Darul Ta'zim (technical director) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022- | Johor Darul Ta'zim (CEO) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 March 2013 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04:46, 23 September 2009 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Alistair Martin Edwards (born 21 June 1968) is an Australian formersoccer player and coach.[1] A prominent forward, he made a name for himself withNational Soccer League clubsSydney Olympic andPerth Glory. He was also a favourite withMalaysian League teamsSarawak FA,Selangor FA,Singapore FA,Johor FA andKedah FA in the 1990s. Alistair is currently the chief executive officer atJohor Darul Ta'zim.
Born inWhyalla, South Australia toScottish parents, Edwards' family moved toKwinana when he was a child, where he joined the local junior team before representingWestern Australia in a team that won the 1986 Australian under-18 title. He made a couple of appearances for the state seniorside at the age of 17, before attending theAustralian Institute of Sport inCanberra.
In 1988, Alistair then had a spell withRangers in Scotland.
In 1989, Alistair moved back to Australia to joinedSydney Olympic in which he scored the winning goal in the1989–90 National Soccer League grand final againstMarconi Stallions to help his club to win the title.
Alistair performance for Sydney Olympic earns him a loan move to English club,Brighton & Hove Albion for the remainder of the1989–90 Division Two season.
After returning from his loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion, Alistair joinedSingapore FA in 1990 where he form a potent partnership with compatriot,Abbas Saad which resulted to a strong finished in the league and cup, by finishing runners up to Selangor in the Semi-Pro League 1 and runners up in the Cup final in 1990. Alistair also finished as the league top scorer which he won the golden boot with 13 goals.
After a successful spells at Singapore FA, Alistair joinedJohor FA the following year where in his first season, he guided the club to a domestic double winning both the1991 Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1 and the1991 Malaysia Cup.
After two successful season at Johor FA, Alistair returned to Singapore FA in 1993.
In 1994, Alistair joinedSelangor FA.
Midway in 1994, after four years being in Asia, Alistair was transferred toMillwall ahead of the1994–95 Division 1 season signing a two years contract.
Alistair briefly rejoinedSydney Olympic in 1996.
In 1997, Alistair returned to Malaysia to joined withSarawak FA. In his first season at the club, he helped them to win the1997 Liga Perdana.
In 1998, Alistair returned to Australia to joinedPerth Glory for whom he played 93 times and scored 24 goals. At the end of 2004, Alistair announced his retirement from football where In all, he made 173 appearances in theNational Soccer League for the club.
Alistair played for theAustralia national team between 1991 and 1997, scoring 3 goals in 19 matches, and also represented Australia at the1987 FIFA U-20 World Cup held inChile.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 January 1992 | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia |  Sweden | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 14 August 1992 | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia |  Indonesia | 0–3 | 0–3 | Indonesian Independence Cup |
| 3 | 22 January 1997 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia |  South Korea | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
In 2004, Alistair was the assistant coach at the2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in Thailand.
Alistair was then announced as the head coach of the newly created Australian side,Western Waves but limited resources forced them to dissolvement the following year.
Alistair returned to the Australia Women U-20 side and was named the head coach of the Women team at the2006 AFC U-19 Women's Championship in Malaysia where they qualify for the2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship held in Russia since joining the AFC.
From 2006 to 2009, Edwards became theFootball Federation of Australia Development and High Performance Consultant where his main tasks included conducting research in Japan, the Netherlands, France and England on Talent Development and Identification as part of the FFA Development Review and to assist in the development of the FFA National Curriculum. Edwards, along with Paul Okon and Alex Tobin was awarded one of the inaugural FFA Elite Coach Development Scholarships in 2008. As part of his scholarship he spent one month in the Netherlands on attachment withLouis Van Gaal atAZ Alkmaar andHan Westrhoff atVitesse Arnhem.
Upon his return, Alistair took the Matildas to the2008 AFF Women's Championship in Vietnam where they won the tournament. Edwards is also an AFC/FFA Advanced Licence Coach Instructor and conducts Advanced Pathway coaching courses for the FFA. In 2008, Edwards was invited to Cambodia to conduct an Elite Coach Development Course on behalf of the Australian Sports Commission. In August 2009, Edwards was appointed to the position of FFA Assistant Technical Director working alongside Dutchman Han Berger. His dual role at the FFA included the assistant coach role to the Young Socceroos where he worked alongsideJan Verslijen, the head coach of the AIS, U/17 and U/20 national teams.
In February 2013, Alistair was named the interim manager of Perth Glory after previous managerIan Ferguson was sacked. Edwards managed his former club for the rest of the2012–13 A-League season taking them from last position on the table to qualify for the A-League finals.[2] Alistair then was appointed as the permanent head coach of Perth on a three-year deal.[3] On 17 December 2013, Edwards was sacked after a falling out with several players and Perth Glory ownerTony Sage. Senior players, includingJacob Burns, were reportedly upset over being left on the bench due to Alistair' insistence on implementing the club's Western Australia focused youth policy, including usage of his two sons, Cameron andRyan Edwards, at the expense of other players.[4][5]
After working as a football pundit in Singapore, in January 2015, Alistair became the technical director of theBangi-based teamReal Mulia, who play in the2015 Malaysia's FAM League.[6]
In January 2016, Alistair, who was himself a former Johor striker in their historic double-winning team of 1991, was appointed as JDT's Sporting Director[7]Johor Darul Ta'zim is a Malaysian-based football outfit that has enjoyed much success coinciding with Alistair's appointment, although it is mostly attributed to its owner, the Crown Prince of Johor,Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
In August 2017, Alistair was reassigned as the club's technical director, responsible for all the developmental teams under the JDT umbrella.[8]
In January 2023, Alistair got promoted to the club chief executive officer whileMartín Prest will take on his former role.
Whilst playing forPerth Glory, Edwards graduated with an MBA from Edith Cowan University and also entered Local Government Politics when he was elected onto the Cockburn City Council from 2002 to 2006.
Since retiring as a player, Edwards has undertaken a number of roles in sport development. He worked as a Sport Consultant at the Western Australian State Government Department of Sport and Recreation from 2002 to 2005 and has since become heavily involved in the development of football in Australia. He commentatedA-League games covered byPerth radio station 90.5fm.
In June 2014, Alistair work as a football pundit in Singapore for the2014 FIFA World Cup withSingTel Mio TV.
In May 2015, Alistair was appointed as the football commentary forAstro Arena until August 2017 where at that time, he was the Sporting Director ofJohor Darul Ta'zim.
Alistair is married to a Singaporean national where he both son,Ryan Edwards is a professional footballer currently playing forSD Amorebieta in theSegunda División whileCameron Edwards is playing for a semi-professional club,Bayswater City
His son, Ryan was born inSingapore. Despite having been in the country for around 10 days after his birth, he was called up fornational service for Singapore on his 18th birthday.
'Sydney Olympic
Johor FA
Sarawak FA
Australia
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Perth Glory (caretaker) | Australia | 11 February 2013 | 21 March 2013 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 050.00 |
| Perth Glory | Australia | 21 March 2013 | 17 December 2013 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 027.27 |
| Total | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 036.84 | |||
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