A Champion of Football - Charlie Perkins

The Weekender: A Champion of Football - Charlie Perkins

By Steve Doszpot
* Steve Doszpot was President of Soccer Canberra (1995 – 2002)

Please note The Weekender is a 450-700 word article written by Canberrans or others with a particular focus on Australian/Canberra football. Feel free to suggest an article and let the increasing number of blog readers hear your thoughts.

In 1996 when we opened our new headquarters in Deakin, I convinced our Board that the building should be called “Football House”.

So the Board of Soccer Canberra operated out of Football House and Charlie Perkins was cheering us on from Sydney.

For the full article by Steve Doszpot read more...

A Champion of Football - Charlie Perkins

By Steve Doszpot FAICD
* Steve Doszpot was President of Soccer Canberra (1995 – 2002)


Looking back on the past 8 years since Charlie Perkins died in October 2000, the football scene in Australia and Canberra has changed enormously.

Charlie would be very happy with the fact that Soccer is now referred to as Football – It was Charlie as President of the then ACT Soccer Federation back in 1988 who set the “dogs of war” loose on this topic as he first floated his ambition to bring the name change about.

The media crucified him for his impudent remarks that “Soccer” dared to challenge “our established Football codes” and “steal” the name. The fact that billions of Football fans around the World had a better case, seemed insignificant then – and our national “Soccer” leadership did not have the nerve to back Charlies ambitious comments.

In 1996 when we opened our new headquarters in Deakin, I convinced our Board that the building should be called “Football House”.

So the Board of Soccer Canberra operated out of Football House and Charlie Perkins was cheering us on from Sydney.

With the introduction of Capital Football and the Football Federation of Australia I am sure that Charlie and his good mate the late Johnny Warren are sharing some “I told You So” stories in Football Heaven.

From the time Charlie Perkins was introduced to soccer, it became an integral part of his life. He often rationalised his passion about the game, as being a great way to break down the national racial & language barriers.

His love of the game was also strengthened by his great empathy with the immigrants, the new Australians, the outsiders, with whom he shared this common bond.

It was at St Francis's Home in Adelaide where he developed an interest in Soccer, the sport that gave him his start in life and gave him the initial confidence needed to fight for Aboriginal advancement.

Soccer became his gateway into Australia's rapidly developing multi cultural society, where he was accepted without question and admired for his skill and ability. Charlie played soccer for Adelaide Hellas and Adelaide Budapest soccer clubs, and for Bishop Auckland in the UK and for Pan Hellenic in Sydney.

Through soccer Charlie established the financial base that was required to help him matriculate and study for an Arts Degree at Sydney University. By the mid to late 60’s Charlie had established a solid reputation as one of the finest Soccer players in the country. However, his professional soccer career was tragically curtailed through his illness and subsequent kidney transplant.

Charlie became involved with Soccer again in 1978 through Johnny Warren, then the first Coach of the newly formed Canberra City Soccer Club, and remained its President until 1981.

In addition to his Presidency, Charlie was also a foundation member of the Canberra City Old Boys.

As the name suggests, we weren't exactly novices, but we did play against mostly younger teams in the Canberra League 6th Division, like the RMC Duntroon Cadets, who would do umpteen laps of the oval before a match, while we got puffed by simply doing up our boot - laces.

Charlie was always having problems with his knees, ankles, or feet, but that rarely stopped him from playing. He mostly ignored the pain and was an incredible sight as he beat players half his age.

Sometimes when the pain became too much and he just couldn’t run, he would end up in goals and even there he showed the class of his football pedigree as he pulled off saves, that Mark Schwarzer would be proud of today.

I remember one occasion when the BBC sent a television crew out from England to do a follow up story on Charlie (from his Bishop Auckland days) and they wanted to film him in one of our games.

Now we were mostly well behaved, but Charlie didn’t want to take any chances and he lectured us extensively on the need to make sure we were on our impeccable best behaviour.

Half way through the game there was a scuffle and it became a minor brawl and leading the charge was the star subject of the BBC documentary, as he defended one of his team mates. That was typical Charlie, loyal, brave, and never taking a backward step.

During this period Charlie also somehow found time to establish the Nomads Soccer team, which was predominantly an Aboriginal team with a couple of us interlopers.

It featured players like John Moriarty, Gerry Hill, Neville Perkins, the late Joe Croft, John Janke, Keith Brandy, Terry Kapeen, Ralph Rigby and Billy Cooper. Charlies' son Adam was also “dragooned” in sometimes when we were short.

Our team probably had more players come through our ranks than any other in the competition, as friends of Charlies who came to Canberra to visit for the weekend were often drafted in for a game & they didn’t seem to mind as they realised that was probably the only way they would catch up with Charlie.

I remember one weekend when Lionel Rose came to watch a game, & afterwards we were dropping Lionel off at Tuggeranong, where he was staying with friends.

Except the friends weren't home and Lionel forgot his keys. So there we were on all fours, with Lionel climbing onto our backs (and he was no feather weight by this stage) to try & get in through a window, when Charlie asked Lionel "you sure this is the right house?"

Lionel admitted he wasn’t totally sure, we just all collapsed laughing, with Charlie looking at the possible headlines the next day, Perkins & Rose arrested in Tuggeranong house break in.

Looking back like this also made me realise that the complete life works of Charlie Perkins need to be kept alive, not “just” for his football contribution.

But more importantly for the barriers that he broke down nationally for the Aboriginal Community.

The energy, passion and the audacious bravery that drove him to voice the many issues that needed to be addressed. Charlie Perkins life work laid the foundations for many of the recent changes that Prime Minister Rudd has enunciated in his Sorry Speech.

Charlie Perkins contribution to Australian society in general is legendary, he was demanding, tough and focused, he certainly was not afraid to take hard issues into the public arena.

But most of all, beneath his tough public persona, in private he was a humble man, he was generous to a fault with all his friends, opening his heart and his home for the betterment of all.

One of the tragedies of life is that we don’t tolerate the "Giants" amongst us, we try to cut them down, to our size, we vilify them, we criticise them. We only recognise their greatness when they are gone.

I have no doubt whatsoever, that future generations will be taught about the legend and legacies that Charles Nelson Perkins has left to our country.

My regret is that we, as a nation, did not enunciate our thanks to Charlie during his lifetime, for his "Giant" courage to say things others dared not say, to do things while others only talked, and to fight injustice wherever he found it.