Prominent football administrator Ian Holmes was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame on Thursday night at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

Holmes dedicated 50 years to football at local, state, and national levels. Starting his football life at Belmore Police Citizens Boys Club in Sydney, he soon became heavily involved in sports administration as he took on a committee position with the club.

A young Holmes quickly progressed to the Association level and was elected the Canterbury District Association’s youngest-ever President in 1975 aged just 19. Seven years later he was elected President of the NSW Amateur Soccer Federation, the largest Federation in Australia, at 25 years of age.

He became a director of the NSW Soccer Federation in 1985.

With football needing an overhaul from the top down, Holmes was soon in a position to help make fundamental change as the General Manager of the NSW Soccer Federation (1987–1991) and CEO and Commissioner of the Australian Soccer Federation (1991–1995).

He then took on the General Manager roles of the NSW Amateur Soccer Federation (1998–1999), Soccer Australia (1999–2002) and Football NSW (2007–2011) before returning to his roots at Canterbury. At the National level, he was responsible for delivering the 1988 Bicentennial Gold Cup and the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship.

His leading and mentoring roles guided the sport through some of its best and worst times over recent decades, setting up the game for its recent growth spurt, including by securing millions of dollars of Commonwealth, State and Local grants for infrastructure development within the Canterbury Association.

We spoke with fellow administrator Armando Gardiman AM and Football Australia Chair Anter Isaac to get a better insight into one of Australian football’s greatest administrators.

The genesis of Holmes in Australian football

Gardiman, who first met our latest Hall of Fame inductee in 2005 when he joined the Executive Committee of the Canterbury District Soccer Football Association, described the early stages of Holmes’ football administrative career.

“He was 17 when he was the secretary of the Canterbury District Soccer Football Association. When you think about it, it’s unheard of,” Gardiman told us.

“No one at the age of 17 ends up with a key, pivotal role in a local governing body. It was unique, and I think in many ways it is probably what sets him apart when it comes to administrators.

“I don’t actually know that Ian’s got a passion for anything other than football. 

“He has a family, but he very, very strongly calls his football friends, his football, his family – the football family are his family. He’s completely embedded in football. He lives for it. 

“And I think, to be fair to him, community football is his absolute passion. That’s what he’s really passionate about. He loves to see these kids on the park.”

Holmes, the operator

Holmes was pivotal in many operations across the district and was instrumental in securing millions of dollars for infrastructure development, including those pumped into the Henley Park and Rudd Park projects.

“Ian was a consummate political operator,” Gardiman continued.

“He didn’t swing with one side or the other. He just swung for football.

“He didn’t care who they were. He just talked to them. For him, it was about connecting the game to local government. Local government was the key. 

“That’s where he worked on to start with, and then he worked up the chain to state, and then he worked up the chain to federal, and he sold the game. And when you look at the infrastructure that we now have, a lot of his work was absolutely pivotal to that.

“I think our governing bodies would be surprised when they came to one of our presentation nights, and they did the roll call of the dignitaries who were there, because there were people there from all levels of government. 

“And it was quite astonishing. His connection with them was political, but it was deeply personal. They liked him as a person, and he liked them, and they connected as people.”

Holmes, the administrator

Football Australia Chair Anter Isaac, who first met Holmes when gaining work experience at the Australian Soccer Federation – where Holmes was CEO – explained why the recent Hall of Fame inductee was such an outstanding administrator.

“He’s been a very stable leader for that grassroots community, that football family, but it’s interesting that whilst his role has been more so with Canterbury District, he applies the same kind of care and diligence to every other district Association,” Isaac explains.

“Leaning in and also seeking their perspectives when he’s dealing with matters at Canterbury. So I’d probably say it’s not just Canterbury.

“As an administrator and an operator, he’s always been generous with his time, for anyone. That’s demonstrated by what he’s done. Even in more recent years, at a grassroots level, he’s incredibly passionate about football. 

“Even people who maybe have not been aligned in their perspective with Ian are also the ones that seek his perspective just to understand the blind spots, and he’s always been generous in sharing that – he’s very thoughtful, very careful in the way he considers things and deliberates.

“Diversity is a buzzword now in the last 10 years, but Ian Holmes was championing diversity in the ’80s in his role and in the national governing body and elsewhere. 

“So I think that is what makes Canterbury really special to him – the multiculturalism and everything else that exists in that particular association.

“He played an incredible role, a very significant one in Australia, winning the rights to host the 1993 FIFA Youth World Cup, which he then helped deliver as well. And that was also a significant moment, because that, from what I understand, played a key role in Sydney winning the 2000 Olympics. It was a tournament that was held preceding the IOC making that decision, and Ian has played a role in that as well.”

In addition to his role in the Canterbury District, Holmes moved all the way up to the national level, where his impact was just as significant.

“It’s no secret when he was there, the game really had some issues,” Gardiman said.

“It always had funding issues. There wasn’t a lot of money in the game. It was factionalised. There were tribes who tried to run the place, and through an administrator, it must have been an absolute nightmare sometimes, just trying to keep everyone in the tent, just to keep the game moving on.

“It’s remarkable when you look at what the national teams did during the time when he was the general manager, for example, at Football Australia. They always competed really strongly, and it was a testament to the fact that they actually ran competitions. 

“He ran a number of international competitions here in Sydney on shoestring budgets. He was a really, really good administrator at the national level.”

Holmes, the colleague

Gardiman, who, as mentioned, first met Holmes in 2005 when he joined the Executive Committee of the Canterbury District Soccer Football Association, not only views him as a serial operator, but also a wonderful colleague.

“There was no senior vice president, and I came on to fill that position,” Gardiman continues.

“I’d never met Ian before I went to my first meeting down there, which was my first ever interaction with him.

“He was a very calm person, I wouldn’t say cautious. He was considered, tried to bring people with him that year,” he said.

“We [Canterbury] had our 100-year centenary. That was a great moment for us. Ian and I worked a lot together during all of that. I thought it was a great year.

“All of those past great administrators, past players – and there’s a stack of them coming out of Canterbury – who played for the national side, men and women. He brought all of those into a room. They’re all in the [Cantubury] Hall of Fame. 

“We now involve them at presentations with the kids. Former Socceroos turn up to hand out medallions and things like that. It’s fantastic stuff and it reconnects people who, in a way – and it’s a bit sad – they’ve almost been forgotten by the football public. 

“They played a long time ago. People don’t remember them, except people of our generation, and we remember the contribution they made. 

“And Ian remained connected to all of those people. I shared a lot of moments with him through all of that and I appreciated every single one of them.

“Since the age of 17, and he’s now 67, he’s had a deep involvement in the game at every level, from community to national to state and back to community. His contribution to community football won’t be repeated, not as an administrator, and it’s never been something that’s been a club thing. It’s always been the governing body, the association. There’s not been anything in it for him, on a personal level.

“I think to give up hundreds, thousands of hours of your time as a volunteer or paid a stipend to do that, that’s absolutely phenomenal.”

As touched upon, Isaac’s first interaction with Holmes came when carrying out work experience as a university student at the Australian Soccer Federation.

“As someone, myself, who wanted to work in sport from a very young age – from high school – Ian was someone in Australian football that everyone knew,” he said.

“He’s been a part of Australian football from the ’70s. So now we’re six decades in and he’s had literally every role in Australian football, from being Treasurer to CEO and General Secretary at grassroots football, at state Federation level, National League, National Soccer League level and national teams.

“Ian’s been someone that the Australian football family has relied on for a long time with his perspective, his experience, his wisdom.

“He’s played a significant role in my professional journey, as well as a friend, as a mentor and this Hall Of Fame induction for him is well overdue.

“Not only is Ian a rightful recipient of the Hall of Fame honour, but his inclusion actually elevates the Hall of Fame class.”