Vale Steve Doszpot

The Australian football community is mourning the recent passing of Steve Doszpot at the age of 69.

Steve Doszpot

 

Steve arrived in Australia when his family fled Hungary in the 1950s. Like a fellow Hungarian, Les Murray, he joined Budapest St George playing for the reserves and following the first team. He carved out a career in business and later in politics where he became Shadow Minister for Sport in the ACT Parliament. In the 1970s he was one of the group who formed Canberra City to take part the first season of the National Soccer League. He helped persuade Johnny Warren to come to the capital to coach the club with the aim of unifying the different elements of the game in the area.

Operating on limited resources Canberra City reached its highest NSL position of fifth in 1981. Along with Warren and Charles Perkins, Steve Doszpot did as much as anyone to promote the club. He served as president of Soccer Canberra and president of the ACT Olympic Council. Much later he and a fellow Liberal, Ian Knop, were instrumental in the events which led to Federal government setting up the inquiry into the governance of the game—the Crawford Report—from which stemmed the Football Federation Australia, the Hyundai A-League and Australia’s entry into the Asian Football Confederation.

A tireless campaigner for many causes, Steve Doszpot tried to obtain collective recognition for the members of the team we sent to Vietnam in 1967, who met to celebrate their 50th anniversary this month.

He is survived by his wife Maureen, his two children Adam and Amy and five grandchildren Issy, Noah, Kasia, Andrew and Harry.

A memorial service will be held at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Canberra Ave, Forrest, ACT on Friday 1 December 2017 commencing at 10am.