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Craig Foster

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Not to be confused with Craig Foster (Jamaican footballer). For other uses, see Craig Foster (disambiguation).

Craig Igbobancheki Foster
Personal information
Full name Craig Andrew Igbobanchecki Foster
Date of birth (1969-04-15) 15 April 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1986–1987 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Sydney United 39 (2)
1989–1990 Sunshine Georgies 33 (0)
1991 Avala
1991 Singapore
1992 Avala 6 (0)
1992–1993 Ernest Borel
1994–1996 Adelaide City 50 (16)
1996–1997 Marconi Stallions 26 (4)
1997–1998 Portsmouth 19 (4)
1998–2000 Crystal Palace 52 (3)
2000–2003 Northern Spirit 43 (2)
International career
1985 Australia U-17
1996–2000 Australia 29 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Craig Andrew Foster (born 15 April 1969) is an Australian retired soccer player who is currently a sports analyst for the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) in Australia.[1] He is renowned for his outspoken stance on the need for football in Australia to mature.[2][3][4]

Early years

Foster was born in Lismore, New South Wales, later attending Kadina High School, periodically returning to speak and motivate students.[5][6]

Playing career

Club career

Playing as a midfielder, Foster debuted with Sydney Croatia in 1988, playing in a losing grand final in his first season. He moved to Victorian club Sunshine George Cross in 1989 before returning to Sydney to play for Avala in the NSW Super League. In 1992, Foster moved to Ernest Borel in Hong Kong before returning to Australia to play for Adelaide City and Marconi in the NSL.

As a 28-year-old he moved to England, linking up with Terry Venables firstly at Portsmouth, before moving to Crystal Palace as a free agent. He played at Palace until the end of the 1999–2000 season.[7]

He returned to Australia to play with Northern Spirit until his retirement from the game in 2003.[8]

He currently plays amateur football in the Inner Western Suburbs of Sydney, with Belmore United Football Club.[citation needed]

International career

Foster earned 29 caps with the Australian national football team, scoring nine goals and captaining the side once (in 2000 against Slovakia). He represented Australia at under 16 level reaching the quarter finals at the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship in China.

Post retirement

Following his retirement from professional football, Foster became the chief football analyst for the SBS show The World Game, and is remembered for his commentary during the World Cup Qualifier in November 2005 against Uruguay. He is also renowned for his advocacy of a more Spanish/South American style of play, as opposed to the constant use of the long ball in football.[1][4][9][10][11][12]

Foster has been a strong advocate for player’s rights, having served for five years on the Australian Professional Footballers' Association Executive, as a Director of the APFA’s commercial wing, PFAM (PFA Management), and formerly as Chief Executive of the Player’s Association.[1] Foster is a life member of the APFA and a member of the APFA Technical Committee.

He writes for The Sun-Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald.

He was a coach for Nerds FC in their second season.[1]

In 2007, Foster was invited to be the Australian representative to judge the Ballon d'Or, the highest award given to an individual football player.[1]

Craig, fondly known by his close friends as Igbobancheki, holds the longest running record for eating the hottest bancheki chillis from igbo county, North Territory.

Honours

International

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Profile – Craig Foster". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  2. ^ "Kicking goals at SBS". The Courier-Mail. News Limited. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  3. ^ Huxley, John; Timms, Aaron (17 June 2006). "We're improving at a rate of knots". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  4. ^ a b Dasey, Jason (15 July 2008). "Foster: Australian for football". ESPNsoccernet. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Local heroes go back to school". Lismore Echo. News Limited. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  6. ^ Hicks, Adam (23 February 2008). "Foster back again for the Corey New Cup". The Northern Star. News Limited. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  7. ^ King, Ian. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–2011. The Derby Books Publishing Company. pp. 414–7 and 538. ISBN 9781780910468.
  8. ^ "Australian Player Database – FO". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  9. ^ Foster, Craig (29 July 2017). "Lessons to be learnt from our Asian boot in the backside - Asian Cup Analysis". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  10. ^ Foster, Craig. "Time to end the English cringe". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service.
  11. ^ Butcher, Terry (19 October 2006). "Foster's expert opinion will be welcome at training". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  12. ^ Hicks, Adam (30 October 2007). "Foster defends Arnold comments". The Northern Star. News Limited. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. ^ Oceanian Player of the Year 1997 The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
  14. ^ Australia – Team of the Century The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

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