Craig Foster Biography
Craig Foster is an Australian human rights activist, sports analyst for the Stan Sport streaming service and retired soccer player. He played football professionally from 1988 to 2003, including for the national team and was the chief football analyst for SBS from around 2002 until June 2020. He is known as a human rights advocate, and is a vocal critic of the Australian Government’s treatment of asylum seekers.
Craig Foster Age
He was born on 15th April, 1969, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
Craig Foster Height
He stand at a height of 5 feet and 11 inches.
Craig Foster Education
He has attained AFC C, B, A Advanced Coaching License(2011-2013) from Football Federation Australia and Postgraduate Degree in Football Management/Master’s Degree, International Sport Management, Football/Sport Management(2011-2014) from Johan Cruyff Institute. He also earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2019.
Does Craig Foster have a PhD
He is not a PhD holder
Craig Foster Nationality
He is an Australian.
Craig Foster Religion
In 2020, Craig fasted during Ramadan with high profile members of the Australian Muslim community as an act of solidarity between religions and cultures as part of Australia’s multicultural cohesion and in 2021, fronted the #RacismNotWelcome campaign with the Inner West Multicultural Network of Sydney to confront, challenge and eradicate racism in Australia’s local communities through collaboration with Local Government Areas (LGA’s) including the City of Sydney
Craig Foster Ethnicity
Craig is of Anglo-Celtic heritage.
Craig Foster Parents
He was born to Kevin Foster (father) and mother (Deanne Foster). His father was a state tennis player and an Australian hero runner. Both sides of his family are of Anglo-Celtic descent.
Craig Foster Sibling
He has two brothers, Steve Foster, the older brother born in 1957 and second born Paul Foster born 1967 , both of the siblings had played in the National Football League in Australia. Paul Foster Played as a striker, Paul debuted with South Melbourne FC before playing with Sunshine George Cross in the National Soccer League (NSL). He also played for Avala. In 1994, Paul moved to Kitchee SC in Hong Kong before moving on a free transfer to Instant Dict FC.
Craig Foster Wife
Foster is married to his wife Lara Foster.
Craig Foster Children
Foster and Lara have three children, Jake Foster, Jemma Foster, and Charli Foster.
Craig Foster Career
Foster started his on-air career with the Seven Network, serving as a football analyst and principal commentator on their then pay TV sport channel, C7 Sport, as well as regularly appearing as a panellist on SBS’ weekly football program On The Ball. He later joined SBS full-time, working with Les Murray and the Johnny Warren at the helm of SBS’ hugely successful football broadcasts.
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. In 1992/3, Foster played for Ernest Borel in Hong Kong, before returning to Australia to play for Adelaide City in 1994 and then Marconi in the NSL in 1996/7. As a 28-year-old he moved to England, linking up with Terry Venables firstly at Portsmouth in 1997/98, before moving to Crystal Palace as a free agent from 1998 to 2000.
Following his retirement from professional football, Foster became the chief football analyst for the SBS show The World Game, from around 2002 until June 2020. He is remembered for his commentary during the World Cup Qualifier in November 2005 against Uruguay, and during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Foster was part of the SBS commentary team from Germany.
Foster has been a strong advocate for players’ rights, having served for five years on Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) Executive, as a Director of the PFA’s commercial wing, PFAM (PFA Management), and formerly as Interim Chief Executive of the Australian Soccer Players’ Association. He is a life member of the PFA, and in 2016 was appointed interim chairman of the PFA.
Foster is a member of the Australian Multicultural Council, since 2018 and as of March 2022. He has long been an advocate for footballers and has been human rights and refugee ambassador for Amnesty International. He has often used his position as presenter and chief football analyst at SBS to criticise unethical practices in the game. He works in a range of social programs, including Indigenous rights and self-determination; homelessness in Australia; climate change; and advocacy for refugees.
Foster was vocal in campaigning on behalf of Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi, who was granted protection as a political refugee in Australia in 2014 but was detained upon arrival in Thailand in November 2018 while on his honeymoon with his wife owing to an Interpol red notice put out by Bahrain. Foster travelled to Switzerland to present a petition with more than 50,000 signatures demanding the release of the detained footballer and held talks with general secretary Fatma Samoura FIFA on 29 January 2019, spent time in Thailand speaking to al-Araibi’s legal team and visited al-Araibi in prison. Foster’s many tweets on the topic were widely shared. After al-Araibi’s release was secured.
He has volunteered with Play for Lives (#PlayForLives), a response to the COVID-19 pandemic by sporting people and bodies, which began in Australia and expanded internationally. He is a driving force behind “#RacismNotWelcome”, a grassroots campaign initiated the Addison Road Community Centre, supported by local government associations across Australia. Their strategy includes building street signs bearing the slogan “#RacismNotWelcome” in every local council in Australia.
Craig SBS FIFA World Cup 2022 Analyst And Human Right Advocacy.
SBS confirms former Socceroo Craig Foster will be part of the presenting team for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar despite him being outspoken on human rights issues. SBS has confirmed Foster will be a guest host and analyst for its coverage of the World Cup, which will be held between 20 November and 18 December. Foster has previously described the contest as the “most problematic, controversial World Cup in history”, pointing out reports from The Guardian of at least 6,500 migrant workers had reportedly died since the country had been awarded the tournament and embarked on an unprecedented building program.
The United States Justice Department also claimed that some FIFA officials were bribed to award Qatar their vote to host the World Cup. All current and former FIFA officials have denied wrongdoing, and Qatar officials have denied any impropriety about the bid. Human rights concerns have dominated the 2022 World Cup build-up. Instead Foster said he decided to be part of the coverage based in Australia and to donate his fee to the families of the deceased migrant workers.
Craig Foster Salary
His annual salary is estimated to be USD 150,000.
Craig Foster Net worth
His net worth is estimated to be USD 5 million.
Craig Foster Instagram
Craig Foster(@craigfosterfootball)
