Collection: Greg Downes

Dr Greg Downes is a sessional academic who completed his Ph.D. thesis in 2016 with Victoria University, in Melbourne. Greg currently writes, teaches, and researches women’s sports history, sport management, and human services.

Greg became interested in women’s football (soccer) due to the involvement of his youngest daughter, where he became aware of the many injustices and discriminations faced by young girls and women in their pursuit to play the game. During this time he became involved in the fight to make his daughter’s involvement in soccer an inclusive one.

While pursuing his studies, Greg used examples of these injustices faced by women involved in football as topics for his research. He also realised that little or no research had been done on the history of women’s football in Australia. His two books, Dedicated Lives and The First Matildas help to redress that deficit.

Greg lives in Lennox Head on the north coast of NSW.