Eddie McGuire receives AFL Life Membership for service to the game

Former Pies president Eddie McGuire has received the ultimate honour in AFL for his decades-long service to the game.

Eddie McGuire was presented with his AFL Life Membership from AFL Commission Richard Goyder. Picture: Daniel Pockett.

Eddie McGuire says it took his breath away to receive life membership of the AFL.

The former reporter turned Collingwood president, who served 23 years, said his wife Carla also deserved recognition.

He was presented with the award for special services to the game on Thursday night at the AFL season launch with Carla and their two sons in attendance.

“I was president before the boys were born and Carla, she probably deserved a life membership to be honest because people don’t realise she was 28 when she became the president’s wife at Collingwood,’’ McGuire said.

Eddie McGuire thanked his family during the award win. Picture: Daniel Pockett.

“The amount of dinners that she sat with people, helped negotiate contracts, looked after players, girlfriends, wives and me. And the partners of so many people in football particularly at presidential level where it is a voluntary position, they absolutely deserve recognition.

“That’s what we always did as a family, we went to the footy, the boys have loved being part of the experience and it was great that everyone was there.”

McGuire said it was special to be on stage alongside Bruce McAvaney and Steele Sidebottom.

“Bruce and I were laughing about it, the conversations we had when we first met each other at Channel 10,’’ McGuire said.

“Bruce came to my 21st and Steele was 17 when he came into my life. He’s been a constant for a long period and one of my favourite players.

“To be life member of anything is I think the ultimate honour. In ringing people at Collingwood to tell them they’d been bestowed with life membership was always a really emotional moment. When Gill rang me a couple of months ago to say that I had been promulgated for life membership by Collingwood, the club that I’ve loved and the AFL of which this is my 45th year of having a media pass, it’s fantastic.

“I was the first person in my family born in Australia and football played that role in my life of giving me a purpose and an identity and something outside my immediate family that I just loved. It takes your breath away if you look at what that means in our world.”