Established in 2004, Football Australia Limited (Football Australia) is the governing body of football in Australia and is a member of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body for football. The membership of FIFA consists of Football Australia and 210 other national associations.
Football Australia is a member of the Asian Football Confederation, the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA as well as the ASEAN Football Federation.
Football Australia’s purpose is to ‘bring communities together through football - connecting Australia to the world’.
Football Australia's vision is to ‘be a leading football nation where everyone is inspired to live and love the game’.
Football Australia's long-term vision is for Football to be the largest and most popular sport in Australia.
Football Australia Board
Anter ISAAC – Chair
Jaclyn LEE-JOE – Deputy Chair
Stuart CORBISHLEY – Company Secretary
Joseph CARROZZI
Sam CICCARELLO
Heather GARRIOCK
Catriona NOBLE
Spiro PAPPAS
Football Australia Executive Leadership Team
| Executive Leader | Position Title |
| James Johnson | Chief Executive Officer |
| Alex Davani | Chief of Staff |
| Peter Filopoulos | Chief Officer for Corporate Affairs, Brand, and Communications |
| Mel Mallam | General Counsel |
| Ernie Merrick | Chief Football Officer |
| Gary Moretti | Head of National Teams |
| Tom Rischbieth | Chief Revenue Officer |
| Sarah Walsh | Head of AFC Women’s Asian Cup™ 2026 Office |
| Caroline Veitch | Chief Financial Officer |
Football Australia Congress
As of 23 November 2021, the congress of Football Australia consists of 100 votes exercised by the following 28 members in general meeting:
| State Body Members | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Football Queensland Ltd | 6.1 |
| 2 | Northern NSW Football Limited | 6.1 |
| 3 | A.C.T. Football Federation Ltd | 6.1 |
| 4 | Football NSW Limited | 6.1 |
| 5 | Football Federation Northern Territory Incorporated | 6.1 |
| 6 | Football Federation Victoria (FFV) Inc. | 6.1 |
| 7 | Football Federation Tasmania Ltd | 6.1 |
| 8 | Football Federation SA Incorporated | 6.1 |
| 9 | Football West Limited | 6.1 |
| A-League Club Members | ||
| 1 | Adelaide United Football Club Pty Ltd | 3.5 |
| 2 | Brisbane Roar Football Club Pty Limited | 3.5 |
| 3 | Central Coast Mariners FC Pty Ltd | 3.5 |
| 4 | Melbourne City FC Pty Ltd | 3.5 |
| 5 | Melbourne Victory Ltd | 3.5 |
| 6 | Okewood Pty Ltd t/a Perth Glory | 3.5 |
| 7 | Sydney Football Club Pty Ltd | 3.5 |
| 8 | Western Sydney Wanderers FC Pty Ltd | 3.5 |
| Players’ Member | ||
| 1 | Beau Busch and Kathryn Gill | 7 |
| Women’s Football Council Members | ||
| 1 | Dr. Deidre Anderson (Chair) | 1 |
| 2 | Alyssar Narey | 1 |
| 3 | Erin Clout | 1 |
| 4 | Fran Sankey | 1 |
| 5 | Gabriela Garton | 1 |
| 6 | Jada Whyman | 1 |
| 7 | John Sugunananthan | 1 |
| 8 | Nikki Drost | 1 |
| 9 | Selina Holtze | 1 |
| 10 | To be confirmed | 1 |
Football Australia also has the following qualifying and provisional members who are on the path to becoming a full member:
| Qualifying Members | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Association of Australian Football Clubs Ltd |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets Football Club Pty Limited |
| Provisional Members | |
| 1 | Football Coaches Australia Incorporated |
| 2 | WMG Football Club Ltd t/a Western United FC |
| 3 | MSW No.1 Pty Limited t/a Macarthur FC |
Football Development Committee and Starting XI
The Starting XI comprises the most experienced and learned minds in Australian football, who under the auspices of Football Australia’s Football Development Committee, is a panel and forum, where the growth and development opportunities of Australian football are discussed. The Starting XI will act in an advisory capacity on technical and development matters to the Football Development Committee.
Football Development Committee
- James Johnson, CEO
- Sam Ciccarello, Board Member
- Heather Garriock, Board Member and former Matilda
- Mark Schwarzer, former Socceroo
- Di Alagich, former Matilda
- Anthony Crea, high-performance specialist
Starting XI
The members of the Starting XI, who will serve an initial two-year term on a voluntary basis, are:
Mark Viduka, Josip Skoko, Clare Polkinghorne, Ron Smith, Mark Bosnich, Paul Okon, Frank Farina, Heather Garriock, Vicki Linton, Joey Peters, and Connie Selby.
Mark Viduka - Mark Viduka is a former Socceroos captain (#49) who made 43 appearances for the National Team between 1994 and 2007, scoring 11 goals. Viduka is a former Premier League player with Leeds United, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle United.
Josip Skoko - Josip Skoko is a former Socceroos captain (#48) who made 51 appearances for the National Team between 1997 and 2007, scoring nine goals. Skoko played professionally in Australia, Croatia, Belgium, Turkey, and England throughout his extensive career.
Ron Smith - Ron Smith is an Australian football coach and technical analyst with a wealth of local and global experience. Smith has worked for the Socceroos, coached Perth Glory in the Hyundai A-League, and was the Head Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport for almost a decade.
Mark Bosnich - Mark Bosnich is a former Socceroos goalkeeper who made 17 appearances for the National Team between 1990 and 2000. Bosnich played in the English Premier League for Manchester United, Chelsea, and Aston Villa.
Paul Okon - Paul Okon is a former Socceroos captain (#38) who made 28 appearances for the National Team between 1990 and 2003. Okon played in nations including Belgium, Italy, and England throughout his career, representing clubs such as Club Brugge, Lazio, Fiorentina, and Leeds United.
Frank Farina - Frank Farina is a former Socceroo and Head Coach. Farina scored ten goals in 37 games for the National Team between 1984 and 1995. He coached Australia between 1999 and 2005, earning 34 wins from 58 games. His playing career took him to Belgium, Italy, England, and France.
Heather Garriock - Heather Garriock is the third-most capped CommBank Matilda of all time, having represented the National Team 130 times between 1999 and 2011. Garriock scored 20 times for Australia throughout that period and was most recently Head Coach of Canberra United in the Liberty A-League Women.
Clare Polkinghorne - Clare Polkinghorne is a current CommBank Matilda who has played 123 times for Australia since 2006. Polkinghorne was an Assistant Coach with Brisbane Roar in the Westfield W-League in 2019-20 and has played professionally in Australia, Japan, and the United States of America.
Vicki Linton - Vicki Linton is a former NSW representative player who has become a well-respected coach. She has spent the past three years with the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Development Academy and has been a CommBank Matildas Assistant Coach, Head Coach of the CommBank Junior Matildas, and Melbourne Victory in the Westfield W-League. Linton has a Master of Education (Coach Education).
Joey Peters - Joanne Peters is the fifth-most capped CommBank Matilda of all time, having represented the national Team 110 times between 1996 and 2009, scoring 28 goals. Peters played in Australia, USA, Brazil, and Sweden throughout her career. She is currently involved in grassroots sports.
Connie Selby - Connie Selby (nee Byrnes) is a pioneer of women’s football representing Australia in a 14-year playing career. She was selected for the All-Star team at the 1978 Women’s World Tournament in Taiwan. After retiring, Selby served as an Assistant Coach for the National Team, as well as becoming a FIFA Instructor and receiving appointments on FIFA Technical Study Groups.
National Indigenous Advisory Group
A key advisory body for Football Australia, the National Indigenous Advisory Group comprises of nine (9) First Nations community members from diverse cultures, experiences, and intersectionality, who are driving change in a variety of areas; professional and grassroots football, media, academia, and government.
Members
- Jade North – Chair
- Kenny Bedford
- Frank Farina OAM
- Selina Holtze
- Narelda Jacobs
- Professor John Maynard
- Doctor Karen Menzies
- Tanya Oxtoby
- Kyah Simon
In the spirit of reconciliation, Football Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
Competitions
In 2005, Football Australia established Australia's first ever fully professional national football league - the A-League. Today, the A-League Men consists of the following football clubs:
- Adelaide United
- Brisbane Roar
- Central Coast Mariners
- Macarthur FC
- Melbourne Victory
- Melbourne City
- Newcastle Jets
- Perth Glory
- Sydney FC
- Wellington Phoenix (New Zealand)
- Western United
- Western Sydney Wanderers
Just three years after the commencement of the A-League in 2005, Football Australia introduced the W-League. Today there are eleven teams who are affiliated with A-League clubs and one standalone club from Canberra. The A-League Women (re-branded in 2021) includes the following clubs:
- Adelaide United
- Brisbane Roar
- Canberra United
- Central Coast Mariners
- Melbourne Victory
- Melbourne City
- Newcastle Jets
- Perth Glory
- Sydney FC
- Wellington Phoenix
- Western Sydney Wanderers
- Western United
In 2019, following a substantial period of research and discussion, it was agreed that Australia’s professional Leagues would be divested from Football Australia's governance and management.
On December 31 2020, the new Leagues entity was finalised, with the unbundling completed between Football Australia & the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). However, the symmetries and synergies that exist between the professional game and Football Australia’s focus on community football, pathways, the Australia Cup (formerly FFA Cup), and various men’s and women’s National Teams, means that there remains close collaboration between the two organisations moving forward.