CommBank Matildas midfielder, Alex Chidiac, has been shortlisted for the 2026 FIFPRO Merit Award in recognition of her work in gender equality, education, homelessness and climate action.
Through Common Goal and other initiatives close to Chidiac’s heart, the midfielder has helped fund sanitary products for women and girls, participated in homelessness programmes and advocated for football to play a greater role in addressing climate change. She has also donated to PFA Australia’s social-impact fund and spoken up for player rights during collective bargaining negotiations.
Earlier in the year, when the team played in Kenya during the FIFA Series, Chidiac had the opportunity to play in front of her friends at Moving The Goal Post Kenya, a non-profit organisation based in the coastal region of Kenya that uses football programs to empower adolescent girls and young women, with over 50,000 women and girls around Kenya benefiting from the program.
Australia’s first-ever game in Kenya was a special one for Chidiac, scoring in the game and being named Player of the Match, and getting the opportunity to meet the people from Moving the Goal Post Kenya that she has been supporting for eight years.
The winner of the accolade, which recognises footballers who are highlighting an issue and influencing change, will be announced on Thursday, November 19 at the 2026 FIFPRO General Assembly in Panama.
First presented in 2008, the FIFPRO Merit Awards recognise players in three categories: Player Activism, Player Impact and Player Voice, with the winners selected by a committee; each winner will receive a $10,000 donation from FIFPRO to help support their initiative.