Craig Foster

Club career

Playing as a midfielder, Foster debuted with Sydney Croatia in 1988, playing in a losing grand final in his first season. He has said his time at Sydney Croatia is what began his interest in multiculturalism. He moved to Victorian club Sunshine George Cross in 1989 before returning to Sydney to play for Avala in the NSW Super League in 1992. In 1992–93, Foster played for Ernest Borel in Hong Kong, before returning to Australia to play for Adelaide City in 1994 and then Marconi in the NSL in 1996/7. As a 28-year-old he moved to England, linking up with Terry Venables firstly at Portsmouth in 1997–98, before moving to Crystal Palace as a free agent from 1998 to 2000. He returned to Australia to play with Northern Spirit, based in North Sydney, until his retirement from the game in 2003. In 2013 he was listed as a player for the Belmore United Over 35s along with Paul Okon and Francis Awaritefe.

International career

Foster represented Australia at under-16 level, reaching the quarter finals at the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship in China. He was the 419th player for the Australia national team (the Socceroos) from 1996 to 2000, earning 29 caps, and was the team's 40th captain, and scoring nine goals. As a Socceroo, he played in the following competitions and games:

FIFA Confederations Cup: runner-up, 1997 OFC Nations Cup: 1996, 2000 As captain, friendly match, 1–1 draw with Bulgaria, 15 February 2000) Australia – Team of the Century:…

Craig Andrew Foster was born in 1969 in Lismore, New South Wales. Both sides of his family are of Anglo-Celtic descent. He attended Kadina High School, periodically returning to speak and motivate students. Foster holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Football Business and a Master in Sport Management degree from the Johan Cruyff Institute. In 2019, he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Central Queensland University Australia.

Foster is married to Lara Foster, and they have three children, Jake, Jemma, and Charli. He wrote a dedication to them in Fighting for Hakeem. He says he is an introvert, who does not relish social situations.

As a sports broadcaster with SBS, Foster won at least three Logie Awards for the Most Outstanding Sports Coverage as part of The World Game team at SBS. Australia's Round of 16 match against Italy in 2006 (at the 2007 Logies); and the 2018 World Cup in Russia (at the 2019 Logies). In 2015 Foster and Les Murray also accepted the Logie in 2015 for their coverage the 2014 World Cup by The World Game. (One source reports a win for the 2005 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in Sydney, but this is not confirmed.) In 2019, the Foster was recognised by the Australian Financial Review as a "True Australian Leader", while The Sydney Morning Herald listed him as one of the "People that Defined 2019". In 2020 he was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Medal, for his work in advocating for Hakeem al-Araibi in 2019, and in the same year was awarded the NSW Humanitarian Award (awarded during Refugee Week each year by the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors) for his work with sport and human rights, and the Abyssinian Medal, as part of the 14th Australian Muslim Achievement Awards (AMAA) founded and hosted by the Mission of Hope and led by Hanan Dover. He was a finalist for NSW Australian of the Year in 2021. Artist Julian Meagher decided that he would paint a portrait of Foster each year until it was shortlisted for the prestigious Archibald Prize. His first attempt in 2020 did not make it, but in 2021 his…