What has Craig Foster not achieved? At just 15 years old, he played football for Australia, going on to captain the Socceroos in 29 games. After retiring, he turned his attention to human rights and social justice activism.
Among his work, Craig spearheaded a global lobbying campaign to free Bahraini-Australian footballer Hakeem al-Araibi from wrongful imprisonment abroad, is an ambassador for Amnesty International Human Rights and was a part of the team that successfully secured the evacuation and resettlement of over 100 Afghans from Kabul in 2021.
He was even invited to have lunch with the King and Queen… but he declined that invitation.
Listen to The Briefing’s chat with Craig Foster here:
Craig has consistently been public about his stance on Australia becoming a Republic, telling Antoinette Lattouf on The Weekend Briefing it wouldn’t have been right to accept the invitation.
“It’s better that someone else had the opportunity who is respectful of the institution,” he said.
“I think that it’s great there are some Australians like that. I’m not one of them. I’ve never have been.
“I’ve always been a Republican, and plus, I’m not a fan of royalty per se. I know many Australians are. I just see it as anti-Australian.”
That’s just one of the many topics Craig and Antoinette cover in this conversation; the pair also discuss what human rights causes Craig chooses to champion, the media’s influence in Australia, and his nightmare blunt rotation.
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