Football well represented in 2018 NSW Sports Awards
Football will be well represented at the upcoming NSW Sports Awards with the round ball game winning nominations in six out of the thirteen categories with the winners to be announced on Tuesday 27th of November at the 2018 NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony held at the Grand Pavilion, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse.
Football NSW have been nominated in the Organisation of the Year category and will be up against some tough opposition with the likes of AFL NSW/ACT, Hockey NSW, Netball NSW, Gymnastics NSW and NSW Rugby League all vying for the top prize. Football NSW have scooped this award twice since the Sport NSW Awards commenced in 1994, taking out the major honour in 2004 and 2009.
Well known Football NSW Women’s and Girls Development Manager and female administrator Jo Fernandes has also been nominated for the ‘Administrator of the Year’ award. It’s been a remarkable year for Fernandes who was appointed as a General Coordinator for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia – a first for any Australian female football administrator while she held several General Coordinator roles previously, with her first appointment in 2008 for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile. Fernandes was also appointed as GC for the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan in 2012, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica in 2014, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015 – which included the successful delivery of the final in Vancouver – and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. Fernandes was also part of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India in 2017, where she was the first female GC appointed to the event and oversaw match day operations of the final in Kolkata.
Pararoos and Sutherland Shire local star Taj Lynch was nominated in the ‘Young Athlete of the Year Award’, while Westfield Matildas coach Alen Stajcic will hope he can take out the ‘Coach of the Year’ category thanks to his amazing achievements with the national team.
The NSW Cerebral Palsy Football Team who recently took out their 14th CP Championship title, have been nominated in the ‘Team of the Year with a Disability’ while finally Hyundai A-League side Sydney FC were nominated for the ‘Team of the Year’.
In addition to these nominations for football, former Matildas star Julie Dolan, known as one of the major pioneers of Australian female football, will be inducted into the NSW Sports Award’s Hall of Fame.
Click here to view the full Sport NSW Awards 2018 Finalists
