Craig Foster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Craig Foster
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Foster in February 2022
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| Born |
Craig Andrew Foster
15 April 1969 Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
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| Alma mater | Kadina High School Johan Cruyff Institute Central Queensland University |
| Occupation | Former soccer player, human rights advocate, sports presenter |
| Known for | Australian national soccer team player and captain, human rights advocacy |
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Notable work
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Fighting for Hakeem (2019) |
| Television | SBS (2002 – June 2020) Stan (August 2020 – present) |
| Board member of | Australian Republic Movement (Chair), Australian Multicultural Council, John Moriarty Football |
| Awards | Logie Awards (3) Member of the Order of Australia |
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Craig Andrew Foster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | AIS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Sydney United | 39 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Sunshine Georgies | 33 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Avala | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Singapore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Avala | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Ernest Borel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Adelaide City | 50 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Marconi Stallions | 26 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Portsmouth | 19 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Crystal Palace | 52 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Northern Spirit | 43 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Australia U-17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2000 | Australia | 29 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Craig Andrew Foster AM, often called Fozzy or Fozz, is an Australian who used to play professional soccer. He is also a strong supporter of human rights and works as a sports expert for the Stan streaming service in Australia.
Craig played soccer professionally from 1988 to 2003. He was part of Australia's national team, the Socceroos, from 1996 to 2000. He was the 419th player to join the Socceroos and became the 40th captain of the national team. After retiring from playing, he worked as the main soccer expert for SBS from about 2002 until June 2020.
Craig Foster is also well-known for his work in human rights. He often speaks out about how the Australian Government treats people seeking asylum. He played a very important role in helping to free Bahraini soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi. Hakeem was held in Thailand from late 2018 to early 2019. Craig later helped write a book about this, called Fighting for Hakeem. This book became the working title for a 2023 documentary film, which was later named The Defenders.
In November 2022, Craig Foster was chosen to be the chair of the Australian Republic Movement.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Craig Andrew Foster was born in 1969 in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. His family has Anglo-Celtic roots.
He went to Kadina High School. After high school, he continued his studies and earned special degrees in Football Business and Sport Management from the Johan Cruyff Institute. In 2019, he also completed a Bachelor of Laws degree from Central Queensland University Australia.
Playing Career
Club Soccer Teams
Craig Foster played as a midfielder. He started his professional career with Sydney Croatia in 1988. In his first season, his team played in the grand final but lost. Craig has said that his time at Sydney Croatia helped him become interested in different cultures, known as multiculturalism.
After that, he played for Sunshine George Cross in Victoria in 1989. He then returned to Sydney to play for Avala in 1992. In 1992 and 1993, Craig played for Ernest Borel in Hong Kong. He then came back to Australia to play for Adelaide City in 1994 and Marconi in 1996 and 1997.
When he was 28, Craig moved to England. He played for Portsmouth in 1997–98. After that, he joined Crystal Palace from 1998 to 2000.
He returned to Australia one last time to play for Northern Spirit in North Sydney. He played there until he retired from professional soccer in 2003.
Playing for Australia
Craig Foster played for Australia's national team when he was under 16 years old. His team reached the quarter-finals in the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship in China.
He became the 419th player for the Australia national team (the Socceroos) in 1996. He played 29 games for the team and scored nine goals. He also became the team's 40th captain.
As a Socceroo, he played in these important competitions:
- FIFA Confederations Cup: His team was runner-up in 1997.
- OFC Nations Cup: He played in the 1996 and 2000 tournaments.
- He was captain in a friendly match against Bulgaria in 2000, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
International Goals
Craig Foster scored 9 goals for the Australian national team. Here is a list of his international goals:
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
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| 1 | 11 June 1997 | Western Sydney Stadium, Parramatta, Australia |  Solomon Islands |
7–0 | 13–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 2 | 28 June 1997 | North Harbour Stadium, North Shore, New Zealand |  New Zealand |
3–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 3 | 29 March 2000 | Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech Republic |  Czech Republic |
1–3 | 1–3 | Friendly | |
| 4 | 15 June 2000 | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia |  Paraguay |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | 19 June 2000 | Stade Pater Te Hono Nui, Pīraʻe, Tahiti |  Cook Islands |
4–0 | 17–0 | 2000 OFC Nations Cup | |
| 6 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 8–0 | ||||||
| 8 | 14–0 | ||||||
| 9 | 28 June 2000 | Stade Pater Te Hono Nui, Pīraʻe, Tahiti | New Zealand |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2000 OFC Nations Cup |
Soccer Achievements
- In 1991-92, he was named one of the 11 Hong Kong Top Footballers.
- He was nominated for the Oceania Footballer of the Year award in 1997.
- He was the top scorer in the 2000 OFC Nations Cup.
After Retirement
Even after retiring from professional soccer, Craig Foster still plays for a local team called Waverley Old Boys Over 35s.
Other Soccer Roles
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Craig Foster began his career on TV with the Seven Network. He was a soccer expert and commentator for their sports channel, C7 Sport. He also appeared regularly on SBS's weekly soccer show, On The Ball. Later, he joined SBS full-time and became known as "Fozz" or "Fozzy".
After he stopped playing professional soccer, Craig became the main soccer expert for the SBS show The World Game. He worked there from about 2002 until June 2020. People remember his commentary during the World Cup Qualifier in November 2005 against Uruguay. He was also part of the SBS commentary team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
He believed that Australian soccer should play more like teams from Spain or South America, instead of using long passes all the time. He also spoke strongly about the need for soccer in Australia to grow and improve.
In 2007, Craig was chosen to represent Australia and help judge the Ballon d'Or. This is the highest award given to an individual soccer player. Also in 2007, he was a coach for the team on the SBS television show Nerds FC in its second season.
In June 2020, Craig left SBS after 18 years as a sports presenter. In August 2020, he joined Stan Sport. There, he co-presented big UEFA competitions like the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Conference League.
Craig has always been a strong supporter of players' rights. He served on the Executive of Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) for five years. He is a lifetime member of the PFA and was appointed interim chairman in 2016.
He is also an Ambassador for the Johan Cruyff Institute and a co-director/board member of John Moriarty Football.
Human Rights and Social Advocacy
Craig Foster is a member of the Australian Multicultural Council since 2018. He has been a human rights and refugee ambassador for Amnesty International. He often used his role as a presenter at SBS to speak out against unfair practices in sports. He works on many social issues, including Indigenous rights and self-determination, helping people experiencing homelessness in Australia, fighting climate change, and supporting refugees.
Helping Hakeem al-Araibi
Craig Foster was very active in the campaign to help Bahraini soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi. Hakeem was a political refugee in Australia. In November 2018, he was arrested in Thailand while on his honeymoon because Bahrain had issued an Interpol red notice for him.
Craig traveled to Switzerland to give a petition with over 50,000 signatures to FIFA, asking for Hakeem's release. He also visited Hakeem in prison in Thailand and spoke with his legal team. Craig's many messages on Twitter about Hakeem were shared widely. After Hakeem was released, many people suggested Craig for Australian of the Year. Many politicians, including then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, praised him for his efforts.
After Hakeem's release, Craig said that the fight for justice had just begun. He called for FIFA and the IOC to investigate the unfair treatment of athletes during and after the Bahraini uprising of 2011. He also spoke about how Australia treats refugees, saying that "Australia needs to look at how we treat every human being that comes to these shores... We are all equal, and should all be treated with equal dignity, care and respect."
Craig plays a big part in the 2023 documentary film The Defenders. This film tells the story of the campaign to free Hakeem al-Araibi. Craig is also listed as a co-writer for the film, as some of the story came from his book, Fighting for Hakeem.
Supporting Refugees
On February 22, 2019, Craig Foster wrote an open letter to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten. In the letter, he thanked them for helping Hakeem but also talked about how Australia treats its asylum seekers. He explained that it was hard to get international support for Hakeem because of Australia's own policies on refugees. He said that Australia's policy of holding people in offshore detention for a very long time does not follow international rules.
He became the public face of Amnesty Australia's "Game Over" (#GameOver) campaign in late 2019. Many famous sportspeople and musicians supported this campaign. The campaign focuses on asylum seekers who have been held in detention for many years, often on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In October 2020, Craig and NRL star Sonny Bill Williams gave a petition with over 65,000 signatures to the Australian Parliament. The petition asked the government to accept New Zealand's offer to resettle some of these refugees.
On March 23, 2022, Craig Foster gave a speech at the National Press Club of Australia. He talked about human rights, democracy, and how Australia should act as a responsible country in the world. He said that Australia had not done well on Indigenous rights, refugee rights, or climate change. He also said that the colonisation of Australia was based on racism, which still affects policies today. The day after his speech, the government announced it would accept New Zealand's offer to resettle some refugees.
Speaking Out on Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Craig Foster has also spoken out against the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He was especially concerned about workers not being paid fairly and being mistreated while building the World Cup stadiums. He supports the #PayUpFIFA campaign, which asks for money to be paid to the families of these workers.
He has also criticized Saudi Arabia's sponsorship of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. He called it "sportswashing", which means using sports to make a country look good despite human rights issues. He pointed out that women in Saudi Arabia need permission from a male guardian to work, which makes their tourism body sponsoring a women's sports event ironic.
Other Important Roles
Craig Foster was formerly a Director for the Council on Australia Latin America Relations with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
He was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) until May 2024. He stepped down after disagreements about his comments on the Gaza war.
He has also volunteered with Play for Lives (#PlayForLives), a program started by sports people to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also a key person behind "#RacismNotWelcome", a campaign that puts up street signs with the slogan "#RacismNotWelcome" in local councils across Australia.
As of 2022, Craig Foster also holds these positions:
- Adjunct Professor of Sport & Social Responsibility with Torrens University.
- Ambassador for The Big Issue Street Soccer Program.
- Member of the Australia Committee of Human Rights Watch.
- Director of the Nangala Foundation, which helps with early reading in Indigenous communities, and the Moriarty Foundation football programs.
- Member of the Advisory Council of the Australian Human Rights Institute at UNSW.
- Member of Affinity Intercultural Foundation.
- Director of the Crescent Foundation.
Awards and Recognition
As a sports broadcaster for SBS, Craig Foster won at least three Logie Awards for the Most Outstanding Sports Coverage as part of The World Game team. These awards were for their coverage of the 2006 World Cup (won in 2007) and the 2018 World Cup (won in 2019). In 2015, Craig and Les Murray also accepted a Logie for their coverage of the 2014 World Cup.
In 2019, the Australian Financial Review called Craig Foster a "True Australian Leader". The Sydney Morning Herald also listed him as one of the "People that Defined 2019".
In 2020, he was a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission's Human Rights Medal for his work helping Hakeem al-Araibi. In the same year, he received the NSW Humanitarian Award and the Abyssinian Medal.
He was a finalist for NSW Australian of the Year in 2021.
Artist Julian Meagher decided to paint a portrait of Craig Foster every year until it was chosen for the famous Archibald Prize. His 2021 portrait, called Fozzy, made the shortlist.
In 2021, Craig Foster was given the title of Member of the Order of Australia (AM). This award recognized his important contributions to multiculturalism, human rights, refugee support, and soccer.
Speeches and Lectures
Craig Foster has given several important speeches:
- 2019: He gave the opening speech for the UN's Centre for Sport and Human Rights Conference in Geneva.
- 2019: He gave the Higginbotham Lecture for RMIT University in Melbourne.
- March 2022: He gave the Australian National University's "Australia and the World Lecture" at the National Press Club of Australia.
- April 2022: He gave the UniSA Nelson Mandela Lecture in Adelaide.
Personal Life
Craig Foster is married to Lara Foster. They have three children named Jake, Jemma, and Charli. He wrote a special message to them in his book Fighting for Hakeem.
He has said that he is an introvert, which means he doesn't really enjoy big social gatherings.
Images for kids
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Craig Foster in 2011, playing in a soccer match.
See also
In Spanish: Craig Foster para niños
