Adam Goodes named as Indigenous soccer council member

Adam Goodes has been announced as a member of a council of prominent Australians aiming to boost Indigenous soccer participation levels.

AFL legend Adam Goodes. Picture: Getty Images

Adam Goodes has been announced as a member of a council of prominent Australians aiming to boost Indigenous soccer participation levels.

The AFL legend and former Australian of the Year will be part of the project run by the Moriarty Foundation’s Indigenous Football Australia, and will advocate for the sport to embrace Indigenous players and their cultures.

Goodes, who has largely kept away from the sport that made his name ever since the infamous booing saga, has long professed a love for the round-ball game.

He was spotted playing soccer in an over-35s competition in 2018, having grown up playing the sport.

Now it is expected the role with IFA will allow him to continue his work advocating for Indigenous Australians.

IFA council member and co-founder of the Moriarty Foundation John Moriarty said the diverse council brings strengths from a variety of backgrounds.

The Yanyuwa man was the first Indigenous soccer player to be selected for Australia, and leads a council that is gender-balanced and majority Indigenous.

“Each member is more than a symbolic appointment,” he said.

“They all bring unique, lived experience and skills and aligned values and goals for Indigenous football in Australia. Each member is committed to creating tangible, equitable and lasting change.”

While Indigenous Australians have largely been under-represented at elite levels of soccer, Goodes will be joined alongside some of the game’s greats on the IFA council.

Other members include the first Indigenous Australian to score a goal for Australia, Travis Dodd, as well as current and former Matildas Jada Whyman and Gema Simon.