'Representation is everything': Allira Toby on the future of football

Former A-League Women's player, Allira Toby celebrates with her teammates during a football game in 2022.

Allira Toby made her A-League Women's debut at 19 years old and says "football has always been in my family". Source: AAP / Darren Pateman

For football player, Allira Toby - her greatest success in sport wasn't "winning silverware" but doing her family and culture proud.


The Kanolu and Gangulu woman was 19 years old when she made her A-League Women's debut.

She has enjoyed a career that has taken her overseas, with Portuguese football club Famalicão in 2019 and across Australia.

But Toby said that football has always been in her family.

"For me personally, I don't think I could ever play another sport as seriously as I ever did soccer.

"I do think that a lot of other sports in our country do it far better than we do in soccer."

She is a Scholarships Coordinator and Program Ambassador at John Moriarty Football (JMF). The foundation is named after the first Indigenous player to be selected to represent the game in Australia.
Toby's work at JMF has taken her to remote areas of Australia including Cairns, to engage young people in sport. She said the impact of the program goes beyond football:

"Our recent Deloitte's report that's been released ... indicates that the students actually attend the schools one to two more days than they usually would.

"I think having our programs there is so important because we do provide those impacts and those pathways for kids to be able to attend school and to stay there."

Although, Toby believes there's still more work to be done to provide sustainable pathways for First Nations footballers.

"It is all about having conversations and having awareness that you know, programs ... actually do have an impact and create long-lasting change within communities."

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