Curriculum Vitae
Moya Dodd is a lawyer and a former international footballer who speaks regularly on issues of equality, diversity, inclusion and integrity, sharing her extensive experience in sport both on and off the field.
Moya is a Partner at Gilbert+Tobin Lawyers, and a former vice-captain of the Australian women's football team, the Matildas. She was one of the first few women on FIFA's Executive Committee (2013-2016), while serving on the Asian Football Confederation's Executive Committee (2007-2019). She also spent ten years on the board of Football Federation Australia (2007 – 2017).
As one of the first three women on the FIFA Executive Committee - appointed 108 years after the organisation was formed - Moya chaired FIFA’s Women’s Football Task Force, becoming “one of the most credible and outspoken voices for change within the organization” (Vice Sports), and “the driving force in the recent push for women within FIFA” (New York Times) while leading the #womeninFIFA reform campaign.
She was a vocal advocate for greater inclusion. Together with Prince Ali of Jordan, she worked extensively on the successful campaign to allow women to play in the headscarf (hijab). After visiting Iran and meeting women who were barred from attending stadiums, she has been active in the (not-yet-successful) campaign for open stadiums.
Moya also promoted integrity reforms in FIFA and was one of only 3 FIFA ExCo members to return a $25,000 watch.
A former international player for Australia (1986 – 1995), she was educated at Adelaide University where she gained an Honours degree in Law and edited the student newspaper On Dit. She worked as a Judge’s Associate at the Supreme Court then spent her early career in private practice and in-house legal roles while completing her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management. She then worked in commercial and consulting roles in the media and telecommunications industries, and is now a Partner at Gilbert+Tobin Lawyers.
Current engagements
Moya continues her involvement with sports administration, as a member of FIFA's Player Status Committee, the IOC's Athlete's Entourage Commission, and the ICAS (governing body of the Court of Arbitration for Sport).
Moya also chairs Common Goal (a non-profit founded by Juan Mata and streetfootballworld) through which football players can donate 1% of their salary to football programs that enhance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She is a Trustee of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights in Geneva, which works to prevent harms, support access to remedies, and promote a positive human rights legacy in the world of sport. Moya also serves on the board of Barefoot to Boots, co-founded by Socceroo Awer Mabil and his brother Awer Bul, which provides football gear and essential supplies to Kakuma refugee camp.
Recognition and awards
Moya was listed in World Soccer magazine’s People of the Year in 2013, and named as the overall winner of the prestigious AFR 'Women of Influence' awards and Women’s Health magazine’s 'Person of Sporting Influence' in 2016. She also received the IOC Women and Sport Award 2016 for Oceania, and was named in BOSS Magazine's Outstanding 50 LGBT+ Leaders (2016).
Moya was recognised as a Distinguished Alumni of Adelaide University in 2017, and bestowed the Alumni Award (Sports and Sports Administration) by the University of NSW in 2018.
Her story - from her childhood home in a fire station to the highest echelons of FIFA - was commissioned by the Adelaide Festival of Arts where she wrote and performed Backstories in 2017, directed by William Yang and Annette Shun Wah, with other Asian-Australian storytellers.
In March 2018, she was named the 7th most powerful woman in international sport (outside the US) by Forbes magazine.
Speaker queries to MoyaDoddSpeaker@gmail.com
