Football Victoria (FV) is proud to announce the appointment of Tony Persoglia as History and Heritage Coordinator.
Initially on a part-time basis, Tony will be part of the FV Diversity and Inclusion team. Tony’s appointment was made following the FV Historical Review and Recommendations Report, conducted by respected football commentator Ralph Barba. Through Ralph, the review sought input from the football family via surveys, focus groups and individual interviews.
“One of the recommendations was for FV to appoint an appropriate person who is able to follow up on all things History within Football in Victoria. This is a major step in progressing this space for the organisation and Tony Persoglia is the perfect choice, “said Board member Harry Zaitman.
Tony has a wealth of experience in this area and is a passionate stakeholder of football in Victoria. Part of Tony’s brief initially is to refresh the Historical and Heritage Steering Committee, review both the Hall of Fame and Life Membership policies, create a plan around a dedicated online platform that stores and showcases the History of the game in Victoria and to craft an Action Plan that provides the footprint for progress.
Tony will also be focused on celebrating the immense role that women have played in the game in Victoria.
Tony comes to us highly recommended by many in the Victorian football fraternity. His work has been highly respected over almost two decades, where he has contributed much to telling the story of football in Victoria via OzFootball.
“I hope to expand upon my work in collating records to ensure that Football Victoria does its utmost to honour the people who have helped bring football to life. We have many great men and women, players and coaches, match officials and administrators who have made a tremendous contribution to the game. I am committed to help tell their stories," said Tony.
Tony is looking forward to working closely with the staff at FV and delivering upon the findings outlined in the FV Historical Review and Recommendations Report.
Football Victoria Interim CEO, Kimon Taliadoros, believes the world game is uniquely positioned to deliver outcomes.
“Showcasing and celebrating our History and Heritage is such an important investment we can make, and I am delighted that Tony Persoglia has been provided with that challenge. We all look forward to supporting him in that endeavour.”
“We are always looking for better ways to document our past and to celebrate those that have come before us. We hope to create an impact early with this initiative and develop a resource where our tremendous stories can live forever.”
Head of Diversity and Inclusion Nick Hatzoglou reiterated this sentiment.
"We are determined to succeed, to provide a platform that captures and showcases the outstanding people and narratives that have made our game the largest participation sport in Australia.”
Tony’s career highlights:
- Official contributor to OzFootball, the longest running digital sports archive in Australia.
- Victorian Football Club Archive was released in 2018, detailing Victorian club records from 1909 to 2019.
- vicfootball was released in 2019, a comprehensive statistical overview of the Men's Victorian Premier League and National Premier Leagues Victoria since 1991.
- Served on the Victorian Historical Committee when it was first established, for two years (2008-09).
- Currently employed with Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) as Research & Insights Manager in a part-time capacity.