Tobin receives top honour

Australia’s most-capped Qantas Socceroo and current Central Coast Mariners Assistant Coach Alex Tobin heads a list of nine inductees into the Australian Football Hall of Fame for 2007 which was announced in Sydney today.

Australia-s most-capped Qantas Socceroo and current Central Coast Mariners Assistant Coach Alex Tobin heads a list of nine inductees into the Australian Football Hall of Fame for 2007 which was announced in Sydney today.

The full list of players inducted for 2007 are Alex Tobin, long-serving Matildas defender Anissa Tann, 1980-s Socceroo goalkeeper Terry Greedy and defender Steve Blair. In the non-playing category international referee Eddie Lennie, current Capital Football Chief Executive and long-serving administrator Heather Reid, plus former administrators John Barclay, Ted Rowley and Trixie Tagg have also been inducted. * See below for biographies.

Tobin is the sole inductee for 2007 in the highest playing category - Hall of Champions. In an 11-year national team career Tobin became Australia-s most-capped male footballer with 87 full international appearances. He was an ever-present in the Socceroo team throughout the 1990-s and appeared in two World Cup campaigns. He also captained Australia on 30 occasions, which places him third behind only Peter Wilson and Paul Wade as Australia-s most-experienced skipper.

In a remarkable club career Tobin made far more national domestic appearances than other player in Australian history amassing a total of 522 matches over a 20-year period. He won three National Soccer League championships and two nationals cup titles in his home-town with Adelaide City, before playing the final years of his career with Parramatta Power and Northern Spirit.

The Australian football Hall of Fame was established in 1999 and recognises both players and non-players for their contribution to the sport on a national basis.

A system of awards exists at three distinct levels, with separate but equivalent groups for both ‘on the field- and ‘off the field- contributions.

1. Hall of Champions (players) / Hall of Honour (non players) 2. Medal of Excellence (players) / Roll of Honour (non players) 3. Award of Distinction (players) / Roll of Honour (non players)

PLAYERS

HALL OF CHAMPIONS

ALEX TOBIN (current home city - Sydney)

** Biography above

MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE

ANISSA TANN (Sydney) Born in Sydney 10 October, 1967, Anissa became the first male or female Australian footballer to reach 100 caps. Over a 14-year national team career which commenced in 1988, she played 102 full internationals for Australia scoring eight goals and captained her country on many occasions. She competed in the 1988 pilot Women-s World Cup in China and played in the 1995, 1999 World Cups and also the 2000 Olympics in her home-town of Sydney.

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

TERRY GREEDY (Central Coast) Born 27 August, 1955 in Sydney, Terry had a lengthy career with the Socceroos where he played in 16 full internationals and a total of 38 appearances in all matches. Was first-choice Australian goalkeeper for several years including the 1985 World Cup qualifying campaign. He was also long-serving goalkeeper with St George in the national league winning a national championship in 1983.

STEVE BLAIR (Melbourne) Born in Scotland 18 December, 1961, Steve played 24 times for Australia with 13 full internationals, including the World Cup qualifier against New Zealand in 1981. Selected for the Young Socceroos at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Cup hosted in Australia. Competed in 338 NSL matches for South Melbourne scoring 14 goals in a 13-year career where he won two national championships.

NON PLAYERS

HALL OF HONOUR

EDDIE LENNIE (Perth) Born 5 October, 1959 Glasgow, Eddie officiated 165 Scottish senior games before coming to Australia in 1991. He controlled 195 NSL matches including four grand finals. Refereed three matches at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and also officiated at the 1998 World Cup in France. Since retiring in 2004, he has been a FIFA referees instructor for Oceania and held numerous positions in Western Australia.

ROLL OF HONOUR (DISTINGUISHED)

HEATHER REID (Canberra) Current Chief Executive of Capital Football Heather has devoted three decades as a volunteer, player, coach and administrator. Foundation member of the ACT Women-s Association in 1979 and was an advocate for the establishment of a Women-s World Cup and admission to the Olympic Games. She is a Life Member of the ACT Women's Sport Association, and in 2000 was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.

ROLL OF HONOUR (MERITORIOUS)

TED ROWLEY (Adelaide) Born Audley, England and came to Western Australia 1900 to form the Kalgoorlie club before moving to Adelaide in 1908. Played State league for 14 years and represented South Australia nine times. Chairman South Australian Association 1940, president 1948-54. Now deceased Ted was the State representative on the Australian Soccer Council, national selector and the first South Australian to be awarded Life Membership of the Australian Soccer Association. Life member of the South Australian Association and had the Association ground named after him in 1938.

JOHN BARCLAY (Melbourne) Born Rosyth, Scotland 13 November, 1927. John has extensive administration experience with Australia and Victoria, and made his first tour as Australian team manager in 1967 to Asia and then World Cup qualifiers in 1969. Executive member with the Australian governing body he was also the team manager for the Socceroos at the 1974 World Cup finals. Life member of the Victorian Soccer Federation and the Australian Soccer Federation.

TRIXIE TAGG (Sydney) Born in Holland, Trixie was a pioneer of women-s football in Australia. She commenced playing for the St George team in 1968 which had a nine-year unbeaten run throughout the 1970s before winning selection for NSW and Australian teams. Coached Australia on the 1981 New Zealand tour, winning all four matches and managed NSW at the 1985 national championships.

Candidates for the Australian football Hall of Fame are considered via nomination by the Hall of Fame Honours Committee. A nomination form is sent to State and Territory bodies annually and is also available from the FFA. Players are not eligible for inclusion in the Hall of Fame until three years after the end of their playing career.

For more information on the FFA Hall of Fame, click on the following link, Hall of Fame