The Bid management team has been drawn from the day-to-day business of Football Federation Australia (FFA) to ensure that the ongoing business of FFA and business associated with the bid are coordinated and strategically aligned as appropriate.
Ben Buckley, Chief Executive Officer
Ben Buckley was appointed CEO of FFA in December 2006 with a strong background in sports management and administration.
His position immediately prior to joining FFA was Chief Operating Officer at the Australian Football League (AFL) where he worked for seven years as a member of the executive management team in roles encompassing commercial operations, broadcasting, strategy and major projects and, in that role, was responsible for securing AFL's record broadcast deal.
He previously worked with Nike, including three years as Director of Marketing for Nike in Japan, and was General Manager of EA Sports.
Ben was also a professional AFL player having played 71 games for the North Melbourne AFL club.
Stuart Taggart, Head of Bid Operations
Stuart joined FFA in 2004. He managed FFA events and operations delivery nationally between 2004 and 2007 and was appointed Head of Major Events in 2007.
In recent times Stuart has project managed the event delivery of the 2007 AFC Gala Awards and 2008 FIFA Congress and FFA's bid to host the FIFA Club World Cup 2009 and 2010.
Prior to joining FFA Stuart worked at the Australian Rugby Union for six years during which time he led match venue operational planning nationally for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
John Boultbee AM, Head of International and Corporate Affairs
John’s professional life includes a long time in private practice as a Barrister prior to a career in sport administration.
He was CEO of the International Rowing Federation for six years and CEO of the Australian Institute of Sport for five years prior to joining FFA in 2004.
He is currently also a Judge of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.
John was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in 1990 for services to sport administration. He is director of UNHCR Australia, as well as a director of Sport Knowledge Australia and Rowing Australia.
Rod Allen, Head of Media
Rod Allen joined the FFA in October, 2009. He spent more than twenty years in the media and most recently was the managing editor, sport of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald newspapers.
He has extensive experience in journalism and management in major newspapers and worked as a sports editor, chief of staff, political and finance journalist in Australia and overseas for Fairfax Media and News Limited.
In 2008, he managed Fairfax Media's coverage of the Olympic games in Beijing and has overseen the coverage of many other Olympic and Commonwealth games and football, rugby union and rugby league world cups.
Most recently he managed his own consultancy group that worked with some of the biggest sporting organisations in Australia.
