Playing to win: Australian sports diplomacy in Asia

At our July event Robbie Gaspar and Chris Ciriello, two sportsmen who have been involved in sports at elite levels in Indonesia, Malaysia and India, will share their views on Australian sports diplomacy

Australia's recognition as a sporting nation has delivered soft power dividends over many years. But few of these dividends have been delivered in Asia.  Arguably, because Australia is focussed on particular sports which, with the exception of cricket in South Asia, do not have a large spectator base in Asia.  Chris and Robbie will discuss  the prospects for Australia’s sporting brand to be better utilised to build relations in these key countries and the region more broadly.

This event will run with a live audience and as a webinar.

About the speakers

Robbie Gaspar was the first Australian footballer to play professionally in Indonesia. He played in Indonesia for almost 8 years, including playing for Indonesia’s most prestigious football club, Persib Bandung. His professional football career spanned many countries in Asia and Europe over his 14-year professional career. 

During his time in Indonesia, Robbie became an executive committee member of the Players Association in 2011, where he remained in the role until 2014. In late 2014, Robbie was awarded Life Membership of the Professional Footballers Australia for his outstanding contribution to supporting professional football players across Southeast Asia, especially throughout Indonesia and Malaysia. 

He is fluent in Indonesian and is currently the President of the Indonesia Institute, the peak body for independent insight and engagement into Indonesian - Australian bilateral relations. In 2017 Robbie was the recipient of the Australia Indonesia Award for the Sports Category and is passionate about utilising the soft power of sport to improve Australia’s relations throughout the region.

Chris Ciriello started playing hockey at 4 years of age, following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps. He has had an impressive career with 199 caps and 116 goals for the Kookaburras.

Chris is a dual Olympian, World Cup Champion, dual Commonwealth Games Gold medallist and 6 times Champions Trophy medallist. He was the first and only player to score 3 goals in a World Cup final. He was nominated as one of the top 5 players in the world. At the club and state level he twice captained the Victorian team to national championships; won both Perth and Melbourne Premier league divisions; won the European Hockey League; and won the HIL Hockey India League.

Chris has also become a renowned coach and has developed specialised coaching programs for the Ciriello Coaching Academy where he coached for many years. He has coached a wide variety of team in Australia, ranging from the under 21 Australian national team; domestic men’s and women’s elite teams; and school and regional teams.

Internationally he has coached the Indian women's, Under 21’s men's and women's and a selection of under 16-19 junior teams for the Khel India program. He was a USA Women's Super-Division Premiership Coach. He was the analytical assistant coach and manager of the Indian Men's national team for three years. Chris was recently appointed Head of Asian Engagement for Hockey WA.