{"id":667583,"date":"2026-05-13T05:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/667583\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T05:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:42:10","slug":"socceroos-great-in-line-for-football-australia-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/667583\/","title":{"rendered":"Socceroos great in line for Football Australia role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s greatest-ever goalscorer Tim Cahill has emerged as a target for a new role at Football Australia, with the Socceroos legend a potential option to become the federation\u2019s head of men\u2019s football.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cahill remains the Socceroos\u2019 leading all-time goalscorer with 50 goals across his 108 senior national team appearances and is considered a strong contender for the role, sources told AAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upon unveiling a new leadership structure under chief executive Martin Kugeler in January, FA revealed it would be in the market for newly created roles of head of football for both men\u2019s and women\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n

Rather than deal with Socceroos boss Tony Popovic and Matildas coach Joe Montemurro directly, successful candidates would report directly to FA\u2019s deputy chief executive and executive director of football Heather Garriock.<\/p>\n

FA wants candidates who understand the importance of youth national teams feeding into the senior set-up, while having a grasp on the multi-layered complexities of football in Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cahill would have a solid appreciation of those challenges, but since retiring in 2019, the former Everton favourite has dabbled in punditry and mostly worked in Qatar.<\/p>\n

He was the chief sports officer at the Aspire Academy \u2013 the site of the Socceroos\u2019 2022 World Cup training base \u2013 and has since moved into a technical director role with the Qatari FA.<\/p>\n

One of Cahill\u2019s first tasks if he is brought in to the role may be mending bridges between FA and the A-League clubs, who were involved in a public spat when clubs refused to release players for the U23 Asian Cup in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tournament fell outside of a FIFA window, which did not compel clubs to release players.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a release agreement between A-League clubs and FA that was signed in the unbundling process in 2020 had also lapsed, giving the federation little leverage as they asked clubs to let players receive Olyroos call-ups.<\/p>\n

While some clubs happily let players leave for the competition in Saudi Arabia, where Australia crashed out with a quarter-final defeat to South Korea, there were others who were less than impressed with the communication coming from FA and the then-Olyroos coach Tony Vidmar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vidmar has since left his role and is unlikely to be replaced permanently until after this year\u2019s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

FA is expected to reduce investment in the Olyroos over the next two years, preferring instead to spend more on its current under-20 and under-17 sides, who will form the bedrock of teams for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Brisbane 2032.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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