Julie Dolan AM

Julie Dolan is Head of Community and Marketing for Central Coast Sports College in NSW and is Legacy ’23 Ambassador Program member for the 2023 World Cup. Julie started playing football at the age of 14 and became Australia's inaugural captain and Matilda #1 at just 18, leading the team out against New Zealand in 1979. Australia played only occasionally throughout the 1980s but despite limited opportunities, Dolan played 34 matches for Australia across a 14-year career, including 18 full internationals. A commanding central midfielder, she played in the World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan twice, the first Oceania Cup in 1983 and the pilot Women's World Championships in China in 1988. In 1988, the Australian Women's Soccer Association created the Julie Dolan Medal for the best female footballer of the year. In 2016, football became the first major Australian sport to jointly name its prestigious awards event in honour of both a legendary female and male player – the Dolan Warren Awards – with Warren honoured alongside national legend Dolan. Julie was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2018 she was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).