Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) today revealed four nominees for the PFA Community Award, which acknowledges the contribution of a PFA Member to the community through a charitable cause.
Kaine Sheppard, Ally Green, Alex Chidiac and Luke Brattan have been nominated by the PFA Executive for their work within the community in Australia and abroad.
The PFA Community Medal, first introduced in 2017, recognises the outstanding contribution PFA members are making within their communities and reflects the PFA’s commitment to ensuring football creates positive social impact.
The nominees for the 2020 PFA Community Medal will be voted on by all PFA members and follows last week’s 2020 PFA Players’ Awards which celebrated the achievements of players on the pitch.
PFA President Alex Wilkinson said: “In a truly challenging year for so many, it was inspiring to see Australian footballers once again providing a helping hand, giving back to their communities and to causes close to their hearts.
“There have been many, many examples of players across our membership taking leadership roles and extending a hand to those less fortunate during such a great time of need. However, these four nominees in particular exemplify an incredible commitment to major social causes and to helping create positive change.”
The PFA Community Medal Nominees are:
Kaine Sheppard: While injured with the Newcastle Jets, Kaine establish the KS Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at helping children with Autism play and enjoy football. Through the establishment of the KS Foundation, Kaine was able to unveil Autism Sensory Rooms in A-League venues across the country throughout the 2019/20 season.
Ally Green: The Sydney FC defender was one of the first Australian footballers to extend her hand to the #PlayForLives campaign, which gained momentum through the activism of Socceroos great and PFA Life Member Craig Foster. Green helped to package care kits for vulnerable communities throughout the campaign. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Green also teamed up with Gotcha4Life, a non-for-profit foundation dedicated to taking action and having a positive outcome on mental health.
Alex Chidiac: The Atlético Madrid Femenino midfielder pledged 1% of her salary to ‘Moving The Goalposts’ charity based in Kilifi, Kenya, through the Common Goal project in 2019. ‘Moving The Goalposts’ provides girls with reusable sanitary pads, helping to keep them in school and football. Chidiac also designed and released a t-shirt to drive furth fundraising for the initiative, with all proceeds from t-shirt sales going to the program.
Luke Brattan: The Sydney FC midfielder raised $30,000 for Leukaemia Australia to support his 23-year-old sister Holli-Mia, who was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukaemia through the World’s Greatest Shave, which helps to raise much-needed funding for blood cancer research and provides practical support to Australians diagnosed with blood cancers.
The winner will join the inaugural recipient Robbie Cornthwaite, who was awarded the PFA Community Medal for his charity work with Beards of Hope in 2017, and Nigel Boogaard for his support of Hunter Life Education’s Ocsober campaign in 2018.
The PFA has engaged local Australian designer, 3032.fc to create an illustration of the PFA Community Medallist to celebrate the winner and promote Australian football culture.
