New Football Australia board appointments see women in the majority

September 6, 2021

Karen Sweaney

Sport /

EXCLUSIVE: Football Australia has advised of three board appointments that, for the first time, will see women make up the majority of the sport’s nine-person board.

The appointment of three members to the Board of Directors saw former Socceroo Mark Bresciano reappointed and Taekwando Australia and former Matilda, Heather Garriock (pictured above) and banking industry executive and former Managing Director of Retail Distribution at ANZ Bank, Catriona Noble appointed.

Welcoming the appointments, made at a General Meeting of the sport on Friday, Football Australia Chair, Chris Nikou stated “I am pleased with the reappointment of Mark and appointments of Heather and Catriona to the Board.

“They each bring a unique and important set of skills to the Board to complement those of the existing Board members. I would also like to thank the Members of Football Australia for ratifying these appointments, all important steps to the ongoing transformation of our sport as we continue driving forward with our new 15-year vision and strategic agenda.”

The appointments see five women on the nine-person Board, prompting the Women in Football group to comment on social media “that's 55-45 to women. Now let's see some #grassroots change! Let’s see these women help community football.”

The membership of Football Australia, comprises 28 members, including nine Member Federations, eight Professional League Clubs, 10 Women’s Football Council members, and the Players’ Member (the PFA).

In 2019, the then Football Federation Australia advised "as it currently stands, women are unpresented in all areas of the game from grassroots club committees to the FFA board. Football has traditionally been viewed as a male dominated sport in Australia, with 21% of the player base being female, and only 24% of Board members across our Boards are women.”

Football Australia’s Directors are: Mark Bresciano; Joseph Carrozzi; Amy Duggan; Robyn FitzRoy, Heather Garriock; Stefan Kamasz; Chris Nikou (Chair); Catriona Noble and Carla Wilshire.

About the author

Karen Sweaney

Editor, Australasian Leisure Management

Artist, geoscientist and specialist writer on the leisure industry, Karen Sweaney is Editor of Australasian Leisure Management. Based in Sydney, Australia, her specific areas of interest include the arts, entertainment, the environment, fitness, tourism and wellness.

She has degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney and Geological Oceanography from UNSW.