Maria Berry AM
Maria Berry has been involved in football for over four decades, as a player, a coach and team manager. But it is her efforts as an administrator, from the grassroots, to the national and international level, where she has left an indelible mark on the sport of football.
Berry's first foray into football as a player was in 1979, with Knox City in the Victorian Women's Soccer Association (VWSA) Second Division. A modest player by her own reckoning, she had stints with Boronia, Rowville and Dandenong City, before setling at Melbourne University, where she played for over a decade before hanging up the boots. Berry's passion on the pitch never wavered, coaching numerous teams at Melbourne University, Brunswick Zebras, Yarra Jets and Darebin Falcons, as well as co-founding Kensington Junior Soccer Club.
But even as a player, Berry had an eye for what was happening behind the scenes, serving in a number of roles in and around her club and the VWSA, where she served as a Committee member, be it as President, Vice President, Representative Team Manager or Public Relations Officer. Director roles followed with the Victorian Soccer Federation (1993-1994) and Australian Women's Soccer Association (1995-2003), where she served as Vice President before its eventual folding and take over by what would become Football Australia.
Berry was a member of the founding committee responsible for establishing the National Football Hall of Fame under the then Soccer Australia (1997-1998), playing a crucial role in the inaugural induction of 88 individuals in 1999. She served as a Match Commissioner for a number of internationals played in Australia, and fulfilled Head of Delegation and Team Manager roles with the Matildas on tours to the USA (1996 and 1999), North Korea (1998) and Japan (2001), and the Young Matildas (2002 in Tonga).
Two stints on Football Victoria's Women's Standing Committee were broken by Berry's appointment as Government Relations Manager in 2009, a role she held for six years until 2014. Among her other notables roles outside of football, Berry served as a Director on the Board of Vicsport between 1991 and 1996 and was the Inaugural Chair of national advocacy and professional development organisation Women Onside.
Berry was awarded the National Sports Medal in 2000 by the Australian Government, and acknowledged on the Victorian Honour Roll for Women by the Victorian State Government in 2020. Berry was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List for significant service to football, to women in sport, and business in 2023.
Berry's outstanding meritorious service to Victorian football was recognised in June 2024 as she was honoured with Life Membership alongside coaching luminary Bobby McLachlan. Ultimately inducted into the Football Victoria Hall of Fame at an Awards ceremony staged at the Home of the Matildas in December, Maria Berry leaves a lasting legacy as a powerhouse administrator in football.