David Gallop
Encyclopedia
David Gallop is an Australian sports administrator who has been the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

 since February 2002. He has also been the Secretary of the Rugby League International Federation
Rugby League International Federation
The Rugby League International Federation is the world governing body of rugby league football. It was formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Its purpose is to, "foster, develop, extend, govern and administer the game of Rugby League throughout the world". Its headquarters are in Sydney, Australia,...

 since its inception in 1998.

Early life

Gallop was born 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...

 and lived there until the age of 14 whilst his Father worked as a lawyer. He spent a short time in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 before returning to Canberra in the suburb of Narrabundah. Gallop played cricket and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 at Canberra Grammar
Canberra Grammar School
Canberra Grammar School is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Red Hill, a suburb of Canberra, the capital of Australia....

, however his Father converted him to become a Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...

 supporter. He started a sports administration course at Canberra College of Advanced Education but bowed out after just a week for arts at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

. He then moved to Sydney in 1984 to study law at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, graduating in 1988. In 1989 he travelled to England to play cricket in the Kent League
Kent League
The Kent League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, which was established in 1966. It was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.-History:...

. In 1990 he married Kathy and they have 2 children.

Rugby league

During the summer of 1994–95, Gallop was working as an associate with the Sydney law firm Holman Webb, and playing cricket on weekends with a University of NSW side. A UNSW team-mate had set up a meeting with John Ribot
John Ribot
John Ribot is an Australian sports administrator and former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative winger, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's top try-scorer...

, who had come up with the Super League idea, and Gallop first became involved in Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 as Legal Affairs Manager for Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...

 in 1995.

Having previously acted as the NRL’s Director of Legal and Business Affairs, he has been closely involved in all key decisions involving the game since the NRL’s inception in late 1997.
He was voted the New South Wales Sports Administrator of the Year in 2002. In 2006 he was voted the Australian Sports Administrator of the year at the Confederation of Australian Sport Awards.

In 2010 he was named Chairman of the Australian Sports Commission
Australian Sports Commission
The Australian Sports Commission is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in Australia. It is an agency of the Government of Australia within the portfolio of Health and Ageing...

.

In 2011 he fell in some hot water after he likened Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....

 fans to terrorists after they booed him during the presentation of the 2011 Minor Premiership (this followed the Storm being stripped of the 2007 and 2009 Premierships the year before). This coming after the Storm were presented the minor premiership on September 11, exactly the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in America.

External links

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