Former Football Victoria CEO Tony Pignata was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Governor General's Australia Day Honours.
Pignata joins PFA founder and former CEO, Brendan Schwab, former CEO of Soccer Australia, Ian Holmes and former player and football manager, Alen Stajcic among football’s honour roll on Australia Day.
Tony Pignata began his journey in football at Salesian College, and as a promising youngster joined the senior ranks of Westall Inter before the club amalgamated with Clayton, where he shared the spoils in the club’s Fourth Division Championship win in 1989. He was with the club as it amalgamated again, forming Box Hill Inter, featuring regularly for the Reserves team as it ascended up the ranks to the Premier League.
After graduating from Salesian College, Pignata attended Monash University where he studied Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting. Building upon a strong academic foundation, he worked with legacy companies NAB, AXA Australia and HSBC over the next seventeen years before returning to the sport he loved, this time in an administrative capacity.
After the significant tenures of Terry Jones and Geoff Miles, the Victorian Soccer Federation (VSF) had appointed Damien De Bohun (then known as Damien Bown) in 2003, which signalled a shift to a Chief Executive with a strong football background. Bown’s sudden departure in mid 2004 left the VSF Commission with a leadership void to fill, and Pignata stepped into the organisation with a fresh perspective.
At the VSF (now Football Victoria), Pignata’s finance background was key to restoring the balance sheet. As then Commission Chairman Manny Galanos alluded to in an interview published in Goal Weekly in 2007, Pignata walked into a difficult position, “it would be fair to say that when Tony took over the role of the CEO, we were on our hands and knees financially. Tony got us out of that situation and credit to him.”
Pignata’s business acumen led to significant sponsorship deals, with MILO and FOXTEL DIGITAL underpinning the Goalkick program and Girl’s State Championship respectively, though the most iconic was the signing of Vodafone as the Premier League’s major sponsor. The 2005 Vodafone Premier League is often recalled with fondness due to the perfect storm of events which led to its composition, with the relegation of South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights from the NSL, and the promotion of former NSL heavyweights Heidelberg United and Sunshine George Cross from the Victorian second tier.
Pignata was an advocate for promoting the game, throwing support behind the fledgling Goal! Weekly publication which thrived in its first season thanks to a well-supported top-flight. He engaged directly with the football community, both on weekends, where he was often seen at Premier and State League venues, and online, where he regularly exchanged dialogue with stakeholders on public fan forums, long before the time of social media.
Pignata oversaw the rebranding of the organisation to Football Federation Victoria and played a large part in setting the wheels in motion for the constitutional reform which would take place soon after his departure.
Pignata was passionate about developing talent, and was instrumental in bringing Eric Hollingsworth to the organisation, which led to the establishment of the V-League Academy. He also played a key role in the admission of the Australian Institute of Sport into the Premier League, ensuring that Australia’s brightest talent had a vehicle for competitive matches as they honed their craft in Canberra.
Pignata’s decision to resign in early 2007 was a surprise to many, particularly as the Commission had extended his initial contract a year earlier, but his legacy of building a strong commercial foundation coupled with a focus on youth development is witnessed in a career which flourished upon his departure. Chief Executive roles with the Wellington Phoenix, Sydney FC and Perth Glory suggest a respected and sought-after administrator where commercial and on-field success follows.
A return to grass roots football with Football Tasmania finds Tony Pignata building on all of his experience to help grow the game in one of its most challenging markets. At 61, there is no sign of slowing down for one of Victoria’s finest sports administrators.