New Chief Executive appointed at Touch Football Australia

Jamie O’Connor has been appointed new Chief Executive of Touch Football Australia (TFA), the governing body of NRL Touch Football.

O’Connor will replace former TFA Chief Executive Steve Mitchell, who yesterday (11th February) departed to commence as Chief Executive of the Gold Coast Titans.

O’Connor is the current Chief Operating Officer of TFA having previously been Chief Executive of Queensland Touch Football, and prior to that, General Manager of the Intrust Super Cup at Queensland Rugby League.

His first sports executive roles were in rugby league in Newcastle.

Announcing the appointment, TFA Chair Anita Hagarty said there was significant interest in the role from many very strong candidates, but that O’Connor was the standout candidate for the position.

Hagarty stated “as well as having made an excellent impact on the sport and the organisation since starting as COO at Touch Football Australia, Jamie has spent years developing extensive experience and networks in both the touch football and rugby league worlds.

“Due to his high-level experience in both sports, during this past year Jamie has played a significant role in providing broad knowledge on the community to a fairly new management team, strengthening the NRL/TFA partnership, and developing the brand-new elite NRL Touch Premiership broadcast product.

“Jamie has a strong understanding about where the two worlds of touch and rugby league intersect, and how the governing bodies can work more effectively together to safeguard the futures of both games.”

Looking forward to his new role, O’Connor advised “we have experienced significant transformation over the last 15 months under the leadership of Steve Mitchell and I’m excited about the opportunity to enhance what we’ve achieved to date.

“2019 will be a marquee year for our sport – there’s the NRL Touch Premiership featuring eight NRL clubs, 52 games in 12 stadiums, broadcast every week across multiple platforms; the ongoing build of the NRL/TFA alliance; the introduction of alternative formats of the game aimed at driving growth in participation; and we have 11 teams heading to Malaysia for a World Cup in May.”

“Operationally, we’ve built a strong team to deliver the sport across the country, and I look forward to leading a very talented and passionate group of people to grow the sport, our brand and our commercial appeal.”

As well as having worked in NRL Touch Football for years, O’Connor plays the sport with the Nelson Bay Neptunes, as do his wife and two daughters.

He adds “we enjoy every chance we get to play. The community is extraordinary, and being engaged in the sport at the grassroots level certainly gives me a perspective that helps in managing the delivery of the sport.”

O’Connor and his team will continue to be based at the NRL’s headquarters, Rugby League Central, in Sydney.