Moya Dodd – Australian Football Player

The former vice-captain for the Matilda football team, Moya Dodd has been named Australia's most influential woman in 2016 by the Australian Financial Review and the Westpac Women of Influence Awards. She was honored for her impact on the global culture of football and using her passion for the sport to inspire change.

Dodd is a board member the International Council for the Arbitration of Sport and of the Football Federation of Australia, and even the very first female vice-president for the Asian Football Confederation. Plus, she is “one of three women” to have been on the FIFA executive committee, to help lead the “women in FIFA campaign” to reform the process and bring gender equality. She focused her campaign on Iran and women’s right to attend stadiums and to wear a headscarf while playing football.

When she is not playing football, Moya has practiced as a lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons. Not to mention her work as a vice-president of economic consulting for the CRA International firm and being the general counsel for Telstra’s Multimedia subsidiary for pay TV and cable rollout. According to Dodd, it takes a lot of training and a bit of happenstance to be able to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves, both off and on the field.

The feminine name Moya is the Anglicized version of Marie, which is the Irish form of Mary. Mary is the English version of Maria the Latin form of the Greek names Mariam and Maria that were derived from the Hebrew name Miryam. Miryam could mean “sea of bitterness”, “rebelliousness”, or “wished for child”.