Football Australia Governance

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 Lead, Promote, Unite, Develop and Regulate Football’.

Football Australia's vision is ‘To Unite and Elevate Australian Football to become a World Class, Globally Respected System to Inspire Our Nation, Developing Excellence at Every Level’.

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
Rachel WISEMAN – Deputy Chair
Paul BITTAR
Joseph CARROZZI AM
Angela MENTIS
Stuart CORBISHLEY – Company Secretary
 

Football Australia Executive Leadership Team

Executive Leader

Position Title

Martin KugelerChief Executive Officer

Heather Garriock

Executive Director of Football and Deputy CEO

Tracy BeaumontInterim Chief People Officer
Peter GiurissevichActing General Counsel
Anne Gruber Interim Chief Commercial Officer

George Houssos

Head of Corporate Affairs

Gary Moretti

Head of National Teams

Jon MossHead of Referees

Adam Santo

Chief Financial Officer & Acting Head of Customer, Brand & Marketing 

Paul SutersChief Technology Officer

Sarah Walsh

Head of AFC Women’s Asian Cup™ 2026 Office

 

Football Australia Congress

The congress of Football Australia consists of 100 votes exercised by the following 29 members in general meeting:

 

State Body Members (collectively, 55 votes)

 

1

Football Queensland Ltd

 

2

Northern NSW Football Ltd

 

3

A.C.T. Football Federation Ltd

 

4

Football NSW Ltd

 

5

Football Federation Northern Territory Incorporated

 

6

Football Victoria Ltd

 

7

Football Federation Tasmania Ltd

 

8

Football Federation SA Incorporated

 

9

Football West Ltd

 

 

A-League Club Members (collectively, 28 votes)

 

1

Adelaide United Football Club Pty Ltd

 

2

Brisbane Roar Football Club Pty Limited

 

3

MSW No.1 Pty Limited t/a Macarthur FC

 

4

Melbourne City FC Pty Ltd

 

5

Melbourne Victory Ltd

 

6

Newcastle Jets Football Club Pty Ltd

 

7

Sydney Football Club Pty Ltd

 

8

Western Sydney Wanderers FC Pty Ltd

 

9

WMG Football Club Ltd t/a Western United FC

 

 

Players’ Member (7 votes)

 

1

Beau Busch & Brianna Finn

 

 

Women’s Football Council Members (1 vote each)

 

1

Kelly Rourke (Chair)

 

2

Alyssar Narey

 

3

Erin Clout

 

4

Fran Sankey

 

5

Gabriela Garton

 

6

Jada Whyman

 

7

Elenna Niteros

 

8

Nikki Drost

 

9

Selina Holtze

 

10

Natalie Matich

 

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

Perth Glory Football Pty Ltd

3APL Subco Pty Ltd t/a Central Coast Mariners

 

Provisional Members

1

Football Coaches Australia Incorporated

Football Development Committee

  • Sam Ciccarello, Former President of Football South Australia
  • Joseph Carrozzi AM, Board Member
  • Heather Garriock, Executive Director Football & Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and former Matilda
  • Mark Schwarzer, former Socceroo
  • Di Alagich, former Matilda
  • Anthony Crea, high-performance specialist 

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

• Kenny Bedford - Chair
• Selina Holtze
• Tanya Oxtoby
• Belinda Duarte

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
• Auckland FC (New Zealand)
• 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.