The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announced today the Hon Stephen Conroy as its inaugural Independent Chair, who has stressed his eagerness to capitalise on the recent successes of the Socceroos and Matildas and raise football’s capital as a supreme sport in Australia.
The new APL Independent Chair is well-known for his 20-year political career (1996-2016) that saw him serve as Leader in the Senate and Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
As Minister, he had many achievements such as: establishing Australia’s National Broadband Network; overseeing the transition of all television broadcasts in Australia to digital; and establishing Australia’s National Digital Economy Strategy.
Mr Conroy is a self-professed football lover, and he hopes to help elevate the A-League Men’s and Women’s competitions in the wake of the country’s fantastic results in the latest Men’s and Women’s World Cups.
“I have never seen greater opportunity for the immense potential of Australian and New Zealand professional football to be realised than I do today,” Mr Conroy said in an open letter to all fans.
“The CommBank Matildas and the Subway Socceroos showed the world the heights they could reach in the past year, and the Isuzu UTE A-League Men and the Liberty A-League Women – the competitions where almost all of those stars were made – were proven to be the foundry of world class footballers.”
The former politician (who moved to Canberra as a ten-year-old from England and now lives in Melbourne) wants the A-Leagues to continue to grow as a development system for the rising Australasian talent that can continue to shine for our national teams.
Mr Conroy’s appointment marks the first time Australia’s professional game has had an independent chair, and he indicated there will soon be a second announced.
“I will oversee a highly qualified and diverse Board that will welcome another independent director in the coming months. With a talented, hard-working, and passionate executive team in place, APL is an organisation intent on delivering on its responsibilities to the whole game,” he said in his letter.
Mr Conroy stated that his experience in politics has prepared him well for the challenge of dealing with the “robust and diverse” opinions of football fans.
“That is simply a product of the incredible passion of football fans who are an integral part of the unrivalled levels of participation of our sport. The opportunity is to unite that passion and drive this game forward to unprecedented levels of success.”
Mr Conroy has contributed in a number of different roles following his political career, including founding a boutique consulting firm that provides advice on business development and government and regulatory affairs to clients across a range of sectors.
He also served as the Executive Director of Responsible Wagering Australia, the independent peak body representing the Australian online wagering industry from 2016 to 2019.
He is currently Chair of public affairs consultancy T.G. Public Affairs, which provides strategic advice to a range of Australian companies, and is also a regular contributor to Sky News Australia as a commentator on a wide range of the network’s political and news programs.
Excited for his latest role, the new APL Independent Chair mentioned that he will meet with various stakeholders of Australia’s and New Zealand’s football family in the coming weeks such as: clubs, staff, broadcast and commercial partners, representatives of the FA and its Congress, and representatives of Federal and State government.
“Each engagement will produce invaluable insights and opportunities, but none more so than those that I intend to continuously seek from football fans of all backgrounds across Australia and New Zealand,” he said in his letter.
“We have a lot of work to do, but the opportunity has never been greater. I know that you want the best for your club, and my intent is to make sure that everyone who loves our game feels included in the truly exciting journey that lies ahead.”
