Significant trio joins Football Australia Legacy ’23 Ambassadors line up

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Football Australia has announced the addition of Elizabeth (Liz) Broderick AO, Special Rapporteur and Independent Expert to the United Nations, Paralympic champion Kurt Fearnley AO, and Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison to the Legacy ’23 Ambassador Program.

The brand-new additions are set to bring their unique expertise to the program, particularly in the areas of international advocacy and diplomacy, tourism, plus diversity and inclusion. The trio will speak to the wide range of ambitions highlighted in Football Australia’s bold and innovative Legacy ’23 plan in the lead up to and beyond the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

In her former role as Australia’s longest-standing Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Liz Broderick AO has played an integral role in helping to break down structural and social barriers faced by women and men and has cemented herself as a globally recognised leader and advocate for diversity and inclusion.

Through her influential work with the United Nations and the Champions of Change Coalition, focusing on the rights of women and girls, Liz will use her Legacy ’23 ambassador role to help drive conversations around how gender equality in sport can influence other industries and progress international diplomacy.

Of her role, Liz said via a Football Australia statement:

“I hope that through Legacy ’23 we will see the sport become a catalyst to help our nation achieve gender equality for the next generations of women and girls here in Australia and across the world. What we know from all the research is that greater levels of gender diversity, build performance and capability, and that’s the great opportunity that exists off the back of 2023.”

Having grown up in the regional New South Wales town of Carcour, three-time gold medal-winning Paralympian, Kurt Fearnley AO, knows first-hand the importance of having advocates to support an individual’s progress and access to equal opportunities.

Of his role, Kurt said via Football Australia:

“Being a Legacy ’23 Ambassador is about making sure I can continue to play a role in ensuring that people with disabilities are visible and accepted within the community. The acceptance of the community was integral to my journey to becoming a professional athlete, and without it, I may never have been able to realise my potential. So, I hope that through Legacy ’23 we can further level the playing field and create pathways for athletes of all ages, all cultures and abilities.”

For Phillipa Harrison, hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 represents an incredible moment for the Australian travel and tourism industry to showcase the world-class experiences the country has on offer and reinvigorate the local economy after a challenging two years. Phillipa is also excited to be able to leverage her role as a Legacy ‘23 Ambassador to celebrate the rich diversity of our First Nations people across all corners of Australia.

Beyond her passion to show the best of Australia to the world, Legacy ’23 also represents something quite personal for Phillipa, saying via Football Australia:

“As a mother of two young daughters, it’s really important that they see the possibilities of what they could be, and I would love to think that by having this global event in our own backyard, a whole generation of Australian girls can set their sights a little bit higher on what they can achieve now and into the future.”

Football Australia CEO James Johnson added via Football Australia about the new appointments:

“Our Legacy ’23 Ambassador program set out to represent the rich diversity of our community and with the addition of Liz, Kurt and Phillipa we are one step closer to achieving that. We believe in the ability of this program to influence change at a policy level, but most importantly at a societal level, and all of our ambassadors will be integral in supporting us with our ambitions to drive meaningful and lasting change in our game.”

Previously announced ambassadors making up the Final XI include:

  • The Hon. Julie Bishop, Chancellor of Australian National University
  • Julie Dolan AM, Matildas cap #1
  • Azmeena Hussain OAM, Director Football Victoria and social justice advocate
  • Narelda Jacobs, NIAG Member and Network 10 Presenter
  • Kate Jenkins, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner
  • Awer Mabil, Socceroo
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Football Australia Chairman Reflects on Socceroos World Cup Campaign, Points to Reform Agenda Ahead

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Football Australia Chairman Anter Isaac has released a statement reflecting on the Socceroos’ FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, which ended in a penalty shootout loss to Egypt in the Round of 32 on 3 July.

Isaac thanked the players, coaching staff, medical and performance teams, and volunteers who supported the campaign, saying they represented the country with professionalism, humility and pride.

He said the tournament had brought Australians together across every state, culture and generation, calling it one of the few sporting moments capable of uniting the country.

Isaac linked the campaign to Football Australia’s broader governance work, pointing to the organisation’s recently announced reform agenda and the Enduring Principles adopted last year: Better Access to Football for All, More Football, Better Football, More People Enjoying Football, and Winning Football.

He said those principles, together with the organisation’s values of Welcome, Ready, Connect, Excel and Protect, formed the basis for every decision Football Australia makes.

“World Cups do not define our leadership,” Isaac said, adding that they instead reveal progress made long before a ball is kicked.

He said Football Australia’s responsibility extended beyond preparing for the next tournament to strengthening the institution that supports every tournament that follows.

Isaac said progress in a sporting ecosystem of Australian football’s scale depends less on any single body’s authority than on the willingness of clubs, federations, leagues and government to align around shared goals.

He said the organisation would study the lessons of the campaign carefully and continue refining its approach.

“Adaptability is not changing direction with every headline,” Isaac said. “It is improving the path while remaining true to the destination.”

Isaac framed his own role in terms of long-term stewardship, saying the game should be left in a stronger position for the generations that follow than it was for those who built it.

Football Australia Expands Mental Skills Program for Match Officials Amid Sustained Focus on Referee Retention

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Football Australia has confirmed a second national webinar for match officials, led by sports psychologist Dr Liam Slack, extending a referee development series introduced after strong engagement with an initial session on managing match-day pressure.

The upcoming session, themed “parking with purpose,” will focus on decision-making strategies designed to help referees process on-field calls and reset attention quickly across a match that can present hundreds of individual decisions. Dr Slack, who also consults with The Football Association and the AFC Referee Academy and previously spent over a decade as a performance psychologist with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited in England, brings substantial elite-level experience to a program open to officials at every level, from grassroots to professional.

The theme builds on work Dr Slack has already delivered within Australian officiating. He recently led a session with Football Australia’s National Referee Academy on the same concept, framing the ability to consciously park a decision and refocus on the next phase of play as a trainable skill rather than an innate trait, one that separates officials who reset quickly under pressure from those who don’t. He has also addressed more than 100 Football Australia elite match officials and staff on developing a stronger match-day mentality, an indication of how embedded this psychological framework has become across the officiating pathway rather than remaining a one-off intervention.

The expansion of the webinar series reflects a broader shift in how football administrators are approaching referee attrition. Rather than treating retention purely as a recruitment or pay problem, the program signals an institutional acknowledgment that the psychological demands of officiating, particularly the compounding pressure of split-second decisions under public scrutiny, are a material factor in whether officials remain in the game.

It rests alongside other measures adopted across Australian football in recent years, including visible identification programs for junior referees and structural reviews of referee departments at state federation level, all aimed at the same underlying issue: a shrinking pool of match officials relative to demand.

Football Australia has not detailed metrics for assessing the program’s impact on referee numbers, though the recurring engagement of an internationally credentialed specialist across multiple tiers of the officiating pathway suggests sustained institutional investment in the approach.

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