Alistair Edwards
Encyclopedia
Alistair Edwards is a former professional soccer
player from Australia. A prominent forward, he made a name for himself with National Soccer League
clubs Sydney Olympic and Perth Glory. He was also a favourite with Malaysian League
teams Sarawak FA
, Selangor FA
, Singapore
and Johor FA
in the 1990s.
to Scottish
parents, Edwards' family moved to Kwinana
when he was a child, where he joined the local junior team before representing Western Australia
in a team that won the 1986 Australian under-18 title. He made a couple of appearances for the state senior side at the age of 17, before attending the Australian Institute of Sport
in Canberra
. He then had a spell with Rangers
in Scotland
, before joining Sydney Olympic and scoring the winning goal in the 1989 NSL
grand final. After two successful spells in Asia
and short stints with English
clubs Brighton & Hove Albion
and Millwall
, he briefly rejoined Sydney Olympic before linking up with Perth Glory for whom he played 93 times and scored 24 goals. In all, he made 173 appearances in the national competition.
Since retiring as a player, Edwards has undertaken a number of roles in sport development. He worked as a Sport Consultant at the Western Australian State Government Department of Sport and Recreation from 2002 to 2005 and has since become heavily involved in the development of football in Australia. He become a football coach and commentator for A-League
games covered by Perth
radio station 90.5fm. In 2004 he was Assistant Coach at the FIFA U/19 Women's World Championship in Thailand and then progressed to become Head Coach of the Australian team at the AFC U/19 Women's Championships in Malaysia where they become the first Australia team to qualify for a FIFA World Championship since joining the AFC. The FIFA U/20 Women's World Championship were held in Russia. From 2006 to 2009 Edwards became the FFA Development and High Performance Consultant where his main tasks included conducting research in Japan, Holland, France and England on Talent Development and Identification as part of the FFA Development Review and to assist in the development of the FFA National Curriculum. Edwards, along with Paul Okon and Alex Tobin was awarded one of the inaugural FFA Elite Coach Development Scholarships in 2008. As part of this scholarship he spent one month in Holland on attachment with Louis Van Gaal at AZ Alkmaar and Han Westrhoff at Vitesse Arnhem. Upon his return he took the Matildas to the 2008 ASEAN Women's Championship in Vietnam where they won the tournament. Edwards is also an AFC/FFA Advanced Licence Coach Instructor and conducts Advanced Pathway coaching courses for the FFA. In 2008 Edwards was invited to Cambodia to conduct an Elite Coach Development Course on behalf of the Australian Sports Commission. In August 2009 Edwards was appointed to the position of FFA Assistant Technical Director working alongside Dutchman Han Berger. His duel role at the FFA also includes the Assistant Coach role to the Young Socceroos where he works alongside Jan Verslijen, the Head Coach of the AIS, U/17 and U/20 National Teams.
With Johor FA
: Super League Championship: 1991 Malaysia Cup Winners
: 1991
With Sarawak FA
: Super League Championship: 1997
Personal Honours: Super League Malaysia Golden Boot: 1990 (playing for Singapore
) - 13 goals
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player from Australia. A prominent forward, he made a name for himself with National Soccer League
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
clubs Sydney Olympic and Perth Glory. He was also a favourite with Malaysian League
Malaysian Super League
The Malaysia Super League is a Malaysian professional league for association football. At the top flight of the Malaysian football league system and it is managed by the Malaysia Super League Sdn Bhd, under supervision of the Football Association of Malaysia...
teams Sarawak FA
Sarawak FA
The Football Association of Sarawak enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the state of Sarawak...
, Selangor FA
Selangor FA
The Football Association of Selangor , commonly referred to as FAS or simply Selangor, competes in Malaysian football competitions representing the state of Selangor Darul Ehsan. The team is based in Shah Alam city. They are currently playing in Malaysian Super League, the top-flight of Malaysian...
, Singapore
Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore is the governing body of football in Singapore. It was founded in 1952. Prior to that, the Singapore Amateur Football Association, founded in 1892, was the governing body for football in Singapore...
and Johor FA
Johor FA
The Football Association of Johor enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the state of Johor. The team currently plays in the Malaysia Premier League.The team won the Malaysia Cup in 1985 and 1991, and the Malaysian League in 1991....
in the 1990s.
Club career
Born in South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
to Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
parents, Edwards' family moved to Kwinana
Kwinana
Kwinana may refer to:*Town of Kwinana, a Local Government Area in Western Australia*Kwinana Beach, Western Australia, a suburb in Western Australia*Kwinana Freeway, a major road in Western Australia...
when he was a child, where he joined the local junior team before representing Western Australia
Western Australia state association football team
The Western Australia state association football team is an association football team representing the Australian state of Western Australia. The state team is currently administered by Football West.-Competitions:...
in a team that won the 1986 Australian under-18 title. He made a couple of appearances for the state senior side at the age of 17, before attending the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. He then had a spell with Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, before joining Sydney Olympic and scoring the winning goal in the 1989 NSL
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
grand final. After two successful spells in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and short stints with English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
clubs Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
and Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
, he briefly rejoined Sydney Olympic before linking up with Perth Glory for whom he played 93 times and scored 24 goals. In all, he made 173 appearances in the national competition.
International career
He was a Socceroo between 1991–1997, scoring 3 goals in 19 A-internationals, and also represented Australia at the FIFA U/20 World Championship that was held in Chile, South America in 1987.After retirement
Whilst playing for Perth Glory, Edwards graduated with an MBA from Edith Cowan University and also entered Local Government Politics when he was elected onto the Cockburn City Council from 2002 to 2006.Since retiring as a player, Edwards has undertaken a number of roles in sport development. He worked as a Sport Consultant at the Western Australian State Government Department of Sport and Recreation from 2002 to 2005 and has since become heavily involved in the development of football in Australia. He become a football coach and commentator for A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
games covered by Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
radio station 90.5fm. In 2004 he was Assistant Coach at the FIFA U/19 Women's World Championship in Thailand and then progressed to become Head Coach of the Australian team at the AFC U/19 Women's Championships in Malaysia where they become the first Australia team to qualify for a FIFA World Championship since joining the AFC. The FIFA U/20 Women's World Championship were held in Russia. From 2006 to 2009 Edwards became the FFA Development and High Performance Consultant where his main tasks included conducting research in Japan, Holland, France and England on Talent Development and Identification as part of the FFA Development Review and to assist in the development of the FFA National Curriculum. Edwards, along with Paul Okon and Alex Tobin was awarded one of the inaugural FFA Elite Coach Development Scholarships in 2008. As part of this scholarship he spent one month in Holland on attachment with Louis Van Gaal at AZ Alkmaar and Han Westrhoff at Vitesse Arnhem. Upon his return he took the Matildas to the 2008 ASEAN Women's Championship in Vietnam where they won the tournament. Edwards is also an AFC/FFA Advanced Licence Coach Instructor and conducts Advanced Pathway coaching courses for the FFA. In 2008 Edwards was invited to Cambodia to conduct an Elite Coach Development Course on behalf of the Australian Sports Commission. In August 2009 Edwards was appointed to the position of FFA Assistant Technical Director working alongside Dutchman Han Berger. His duel role at the FFA also includes the Assistant Coach role to the Young Socceroos where he works alongside Jan Verslijen, the Head Coach of the AIS, U/17 and U/20 National Teams.
Honours
With Sydney Olympic: NSL Championship: 1989-1990With Johor FA
Johor FA
The Football Association of Johor enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the state of Johor. The team currently plays in the Malaysia Premier League.The team won the Malaysia Cup in 1985 and 1991, and the Malaysian League in 1991....
: Super League Championship: 1991 Malaysia Cup Winners
Malaysia Cup
The Malaysia Cup is an annual association football tournament in Malaysia. It is currently the longest-running football competition in Asia...
: 1991
With Sarawak FA
Sarawak FA
The Football Association of Sarawak enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the state of Sarawak...
: Super League Championship: 1997
Personal Honours: Super League Malaysia Golden Boot: 1990 (playing for Singapore
Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore is the governing body of football in Singapore. It was founded in 1952. Prior to that, the Singapore Amateur Football Association, founded in 1892, was the governing body for football in Singapore...
) - 13 goals
External links
- Oz Football profile
- Goal for Sydney Olympic in 1989/1990 NSL Grand Final on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....