Panoramic image of the Melbourne Cricket Ground during a friendly international football game between Australia and Greece on 25 May 2006. Wikicommons
Forging Champions : a review
By Greg Blood The recent documentary Forging Champions has shone a light on several outstanding Australian athletes assisted by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) that have had significant success on the world sporting stage. This review examines themes, messages and omissions from the documentary. I had a small involvement at the early stages of…
Vale Jim Ferguson (1940-2026) – Australian Sports Commission’s Longest Serving Chief Executive Officer (1990-2000)
By Greg Blood Jim Ferguson played a significant role in the development of the Australian sport system in the lead up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) from June 1990 to December 2000. Prior to his appointment to the ASC, Ferguson…
Notable Australian Sporting Deaths in 2025
List of notable Australian sportspeople that died in 2025. These people have contributed significantly to their sport and Australian sport in playing, coaching, administration or media roles. Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) members – Bob Simpson AO, Allan Moffatt OBE Administration Archery Athletics Australian Football Baseball Basketball Boxing Cricket Cycling Football Golf Gymnastics Hockey…
History of State Institute / Academy of Sport (SIS/SAS) Directors
By Greg Blood Longevity is a hallmark in the history of SIS/SAS directors and they have covered many areas of sport expertise – elite athletes, coaches, sports science/medicine professionals and sport/government administrators. The establishment of SIS/SAS commenced shortly after the Australian Institute of Sport (1981). South Australia was first with SASI in 1982 followed by Western…
Australian Sports Books & Films 2025
By Greg Blood List of books and films covering Australian sport in 2025 that tell the story of specific sports, athletes, teams, events and issues. Includes books by Australian authors/editors published overseas. Books authored by current Australian Society for SportsHistory (ASSH) members are highlighted. The Society has several book awards. Links to publisher website where…
Australian Sport Leadership Changes in 2025
By Greg Blood Since 2000, I have been tracking changes in CEO’s and Chairs/Presidents of major national Australian sports organisations. Listed are changes that have occurred in 2025 in CEO’s and Presidents/Chairs. These changes hopefully provide an insight into stability, renewal and diversity in national sports organisations (NSOs). With the re-election of Albanese Government in…
Vale Bob Hobson: Significant AIS / ASC Leader 1984 to 2000.
By Greg Blood Robert ‘Bob” Hobson played a significant role in the development of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) from 1984 to 2000. During this period, he led the corporate and business services of both organisations through momentous changes and controversies. Hobson grew up in Canberra and attended…
History of Leadership – Chairs, CEOs, Head Coaches and Captains in Eighteen/Nineteen AFL Clubs : Examining Stability and Diversity -Updated 18 December 2025
By Greg Blood This article documents the leadership timeline of the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) that was established in 1990. Leadership is documented in terms of – presidents/chairs, CEOs, head coaches and captains to examine issues such as stability and diversity in relation to success . I have previously documented national…
1980 Australian Olympic Basketball Team
By Perry (Rocky) Crosswhite – Basketball Team Captain, 1980 Australian Olympic Games Team A squad of players were chosen in mid-1979 with the object of selecting and preparing players for the Australian Olympic Basketball team to compete at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. These players commenced training and undertook a series of scheduled games against international…
Federal and State Governments funding of AFL and NRL High Performance Training Centres – Updated 28 May 2025
By Greg Blood This is an update of research originally published in April 2019. It highlights how the majority of professional AFL and NRL clubs have now received substantial federal and state government funding to develop their high-performance training centres. The 2019 federal election was a high-water mark in funding commitments – a period where…
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