| AFC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded |
|
| Headquarters | Sydney,New South Wales,Australia |
| FIFA affiliation | 1956–1960 and from 1963; 62 years ago (1963) |
| AFC affiliation | 2006; 19 years ago (2006) |
| AFF affiliation | 2013; 12 years ago (2013) |
| Chairman | Anter Isaac |
| Website | www |
Football Australia is thegoverning body ofSoccer in Australia, headquartered inSydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only established in 1961 as theAustralian Soccer Federation. It was later reconstituted in 2003 as theAustralian Soccer Association before adopting the name ofFootball Federation Australia in 2005. The name was changed toFootball Australia in December 2020.
Football Australia oversees themen's,women's, youth,Paralympic,beach andfutsal national teams in Australia, the national coaching programs and the state governing bodies for the sport. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur soccer in Australia. Football Australia made the decision to leave theOceania Football Confederation (OFC), for which it was a founding member, and become a member of theAsian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006 andASEAN Football Federation (AFF) in 2013.[2]
In 1911 the Commonwealth Football Association was formed.[3] This body was then superseded by the Australian Soccer Football Association, which was formed in 1921, with its headquarters in Sydney.[4] The Australian Soccer Football Association operated for forty years, was givenFIFA provisional membership in November 1954[5] and this was confirmed in June 1956.[6] In 1960, the association disbanded after being suspended from FIFA for the poaching of players from overseas,[4] and in 1961 the Australian Soccer Federation was formed as a potential successor governing body. This association was refused re-admittance to FIFA until outstanding fines had been paid, which was done in 1963, seeing the new national body admitted to FIFA.[4]
Isolated from international football, Australia repeatedly applied to join theAsian Football Confederation in 1960,[7] and in 1974[8] but were denied in all requests. Australia withNew Zealand eventually formed the Oceania Football Federation (nowOceania Football Confederation) in 1966.[9] Australia resigned as anOFC member in 1972 to pursue membership with theAFC, but they rejoined in 1978.[10][11]
In 1995, the Australian Soccer Federation formally changed its name to Soccer Australia.[4]
Soccer Australia had remained affiliated with theFootball Association (FA) even after becoming a full member of FIFA. In 1997, Soccer Australia tried to nominate Australian head coachTerry Venables to replace formerVictorian Soccer Federation chairman Sir David Hill-Wood as their representative on the FA Council, though this approach was rejected and Australian representation on the body was discontinued after his exit.[12][13][14]
In 2003, following Australia's failure to qualify for the2002 FIFA World Cup, allegations of fraud and mismanagement were levelled at Soccer Australia by elements within the Australian Press including the ABC.[15] Soccer Australia commissioned an independent inquiry known as theCrawford Report as a result of the Australian Government's threat to withdraw funding to the sport. The Australian Government could not interfere as any political interference would have constituted a breach of FIFA Statutes. The findings of the report were critically analysed by the board of Soccer Australia who believed that the recommendations contained therein were not capable of being implemented. The report recommended, among other things, the reconstitution of the governing body with an interim board headed by prominent businessmanFrank Lowy. Some three months after Lowy's appointment Soccer Australia was placed into liquidation and Australia Soccer Association (ASA) was created without encompassing the Crawford Report recommendations and effectively disenfranchising all parties who had an interest in Soccer Australia. The Australian Government provided approximately $15 million to the ASA.[16]
On 1 January 2005, ASA renamed itself to Football Federation Australia (FFA), aligning with the general international usage of the word "football", in preference to "soccer", and to also distance itself from the failings of the old Soccer Australia. It coined the phrase "old soccer, new football" to emphasise this.[17][4]
On 1 January 2006, Football Federation Australia moved from theOFC to theAFC.[4] The move was unanimously endorsed by the AFC Executive Committee on 23 March 2005, and assented by the OFC on 17 April. The FIFA Executive Committee approved the move on 29 June, noting that "as all of the parties involved ... had agreed to the move, the case did not need to be discussed by the FIFA Congress", and was unanimously ratified by the AFC on 10 September.[18][19][20] Football Australia hoped that the move would give Australia a fairer chance of qualifying for theFIFA World Cup and allowA-League clubs to compete in theAFC Champions League, thereby improving the standard of Australian football at both international and club levels with improved competition in the region.[21]
In February 2008, the Football Federation Australia formally announced their intention to bid for the2018 FIFA World Cup,2022 FIFA World Cup and the2015 AFC Asian Cup.[22][23] In 2010, the decision was made by Football Australia to withdraw its World Cup bid for 2018, instead focusing on a bid for the 2022 tournament.[24] FFA failed in its $45.6 millionbid for the 2022 World Cup having received only one vote from the FIFA Executive.[25]
On 27 August 2013, Australia was admitted as a full member to theASEAN Football Federation (AFF), after they formally joined as an invite affiliation to the regional body in 2006.[2] However, its men's national team has not played theASEAN Championship as part of the initial agreement.
On 29 January 2015, after the defeat ofIraq and theUnited Arab Emirates during the2015 AFC Asian Cup,West Asian Football Federation members reportedly sought to remove Australia from theAFC primarily due to "Australia benefiting hugely from Asian involvement without giving much in return".[26]
In November 2018 with numerous board positions coming to the end of their 3-year term, the bulk of theboard of directors were replaced at anannual general meeting, as well as the departure ofSteven Lowy as chair of the board, which he did in protest at major changes to the governance and voting structure in the overarching Football Australia Congress that elects the Board.[27] His position was filled byChris Nikou.[28] Other board members to be elected wereHeather Reid, Joseph Carrozzi andRemo Nogarotto.[29]
On 25 June 2020, Australia won the rights to co-host the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup alongside New Zealand.[30]
On 25 November 2020, the FFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held. The FFA voted to rename itself to Football Australia. Football Australia Chief Executive, James Johnson, told the media the rebranding would not cost the organisation any money as they already owned the domain and company names.[dubious –discuss] The name change was seen as a way to unify the branding with the state member federations.[31][32]
On 31 December 2020, it was announced that theA-League,W-League andY-League would no longer be under the jurisdiction of Football Australia in an 'unbundling' process.[33] The newly formedAustralian Professional Leagues would take over the running of top-level football.[34] As part of the unbundling, the Australian Professional Leagues would also obtain the exclusive right to use the intellectual property rights associated with the A-League brand.[35] These competitions are now known as theA-League Men,A-League Women andA-League Youth.[36]
On May 15 2024, Australia won the rights to host the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.[1]
On 11 February 2025, the second division, the Australian Championship,[37] was announced by CEO James Johnson.
Soccer in Australia has used a federated model of national, states and territories governing bodies since the first state body was established in New South Wales in 1882. Local associations and regional zones were set up within the states and territories as soccer expanded and from time to time informal groups of clubs have augmented the formal structures. Today, there is one national governing body, nine state and territory member federations and over 100 district, regional and local zones and associations.
| Name[38] | Position |
|---|---|
| Anter Isaac | Chair |
| Jaclyn Lee-Joe | Deputy Chair |
| Stuart Corbishley | Company Secretary |
| Joseph Carrozzi | Director |
| Sam Ciccarello | Director |
| Heather Garriock | Director |
| Catriona Noble | Director |
| Spiro Pappas | Director |
| Name[38][39][40][41] | Position |
|---|---|
| Vacant | Chief Executive Officer |
| Heather Garriock | Interim Chief Executive Officer |
| George Houssos | Head of Corporate Affairs |
| Gary Moretti | Head of National Teams |
| Peter Giurissevich | Interim General Counsel |
| Caroline Veitch | Chief Financial Officer |
| Annette Delaney | Interim Chief People Officer |
| Nina McDonnell | Head of People and Culture |
| Sarah Walsh | Head of Community, Women's Football and Football Development, Head of AFC Women’s Asian Cup™ 2026 Office |
| Vacant | Head of Marketing, Communications, Corporate Affairs |
| Tom Rischbieth | Head of Commercial and Events, Chief Revenue Officer |
| Paul Suters | Chief Technology Officer |
| Vacant | Head of Member Federation Relations and Community |
| Vacant | Head of Professional Football & Competitions |
| Chris Burke | Governance Advisor |
| Nathan Magill | Head of Referees |
| Name[40][42] | Position |
|---|---|
| Anter Isaac | Chairman |
| Vacant | General Secretary |
| Trevor Morgan[43] | Technical Director |
| Tony Popovic[44] | Men's national team head coach |
| Joe Montemurro[45] | Women's national team head coach |
| Mathew Cheeseman | Referee Coordinator |
In November 2021, Football Australia created the inauguralNational Indigenous Advisory Group (NIAG), an advisory body[46] aimed at helping to foster engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and increase their participation in the game.[47] NIAG is an advisory body for Football Australia, comprising 9 members of First Nations communities.[46]
The inaugural members of the group are drawn from all levels of football as well as media, academia, and government:Frank Farina OAM,Karen Menzies (the first Indigenous Matilda[48]),Tanya Oxtoby,Kyah Simon,[47][49]Jade North (formerSocceroos defender),[50] Courtney Hagan, Kenny Bedford, Selina Holtze, Professor John Maynard,Narelda Jacobs,[51] and Football Australia's Head of Women's Football,Sarah Walsh. North and Walsh are co-chairs of the group.[47]
The initial focus of NIAG is on supporting and retaining First Nations players and other staff involved in the game, reviewing pathways and programs to football that impact social outcomes, fostering strategic partnerships, as well as developing employment strategies and the organisation'sreconciliation action plan (RAP).[50]
Football Australia organises several national competitions, with state-based competitions organised by the respective state governing soccer bodies.
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