Craig Foster

Profile

Following a celebrated football career as Australia's 419th Socceroo & 40th Captain,

Craig enjoyed an 18-year, triple Logie winning career with Australia's multicultural broadcaster, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).

Current Work:

A member of the Australian Multicultural Council, Craig is an Adjunct Professor of Sport & Social Responsibility with Torrens University and works across a vast range of social programs from indigenous rights and self-determination, homelessness, climate action along with refugee advocacy as: an Ambassador for The Big Issue Street Soccer Program; Amnesty Australia; Australia Committee member with Human Rights Watch; Advisory Council member of the Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW; and the Affinity Intercultural Foundation.

Previous Experience:

Craig is a former Chairman, Life Member and CEO of Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), Australia's representative body of the Socceroos, Matildas and professional players where, as Chair, he oversaw the introduction of a gender equality quota at Board level, is a former Director of the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and has led a number of sport and business missions abroad with the NSW Government and Australian Government.

His humanitarian activism extends to several high profile, global campaigns including #SaveHakeem to free Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi from a Thai prison for which he was a Finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Medal, #GameOver to call for the resettlement and freedom of over 400 refugees and asylum seekers indefinitely detained by Australia in PNG and Nauru for eight years and #PlayForLives which is a humanitarian response by sport to the COVID-19 pandemic which began in Australia and expanded internationally. Today, Craig is a key driver behind #RacismNotWelcome encouraging action on racism by all Local Government Associations Australia-wide to normalise acknowledgement of, and action against, racism in Australia.

Author: He is an author and co-author of several books including Fighting for Hakeem' by Hachette Australia and writes for the Guardian, The Age and other publications.

Recognition and Awards: In 2019, the Australian Financial Review recognised Craig as a True Australian Leader', the Sydney Morning Herald as one of the People that Defined 2019, he was the recipient of the 2020 NSW Government Humanitarian Award for his work with sport and human rights, an Australian Human Rights Commission Medal finalist, was awarded the Australian Muslim Council Abyssinian Medal and was a finalist for NSW 2021 Australian of the Year.

In 2021, Craig became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day Honours List.

Academic: He holds a Bachelor of Laws, Master's Degree in International Sports Management and a Postgraduate Degree in Football Management.

Expertise

Talking Points

Leadership

#SaveHakeem - the fight for a young man's life

Successful Advocacy - Creating a Global Campaign

Creating Power Global Movements on Social Media

Standing Up for What's Right

Rediscovering Australian Values - What are they?

The Values of Sport - Helping to Shape Society

Beyond the Field - Athletes Activism and the Responsibility to Give Back

Multiculturalism - the Strength in the Mix

Women in Male Dominated Industries

Supporting Women in Leadership

Topics

Politics & Advocacy

Media

Video

Craig Foster | How people power saved Hakeem al-Araibi's life | Australian Story

Former Socceroos captain and respected football analyst Craig Foster has been an outspoken, sometimes controversial public broadcaster, driven by an unrivalled passion for the game. But privately, he has led another life, working with those less fortunate than himself. And in November last year, when a fellow football international, Bahraini refugee Hakeem Al-Araibi, was arrested in Thailand and threatened with extradition back to the country where he had been imprisoned and tortured, Craig Foster led a global campaign to free him.

Craig Foster

Craig Foster is one of Australia's most recognisable sports commentators and a highly respected voice in the fastest growing sport in the country, football. Craig is the face of SBS Television's UEFA Champions League coverage, veteran broadcaster of three FIFA World Cups and leading member of The World Game, Australia's most popular weekly football show. He has also anchored the network's 2008 Beijing Olympics coverage, is the lead sports presenter on World News Australia, a respected and forthright football columnist with the Sun Herald, author of Fozz on Football -- where he expands on his vision for Australia to one day win the FIFA World Cup - and Australia's sole judge for the prestigious Ballon d'Or for world footballer of the year, awarded jointly by FIFA and France Football magazine.

Feedback

Craig was great, on time and delivered what was expected. A very good presenter who kept the crowd's attention all the time and his videos were great too. ... keep reading BEA Systems

Craig was a pleasure to work with, very engaging and passionate and has some great insights around how teamwork can impact on an organisation's culture.

Commonwealth Bank

Your presentation was captivating and so much more than expected.

Rotary International

It was again a pleasure to have you with us in Hobart for our gala diner. Supurb insight, intense passion for the game and encyclopedic knowledge. It was amazing to see how you could capture the people in the room, and I'm sure most of them do not remember the food they had!

Areva

Thanks for your time yesterday. It was a great day, made all the better for your involvement. Just wanted to let you know that everyone, and I mean everyone, thought you were fantastic. We snuck the lunchtime speaker onto our feedback form and you received 5 out of 5 from every delegate (even from people who know nothing about soccer). Thanks again! It really is the beautiful game.

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