On his final night as CEO of Football Canterbury, Ian Holmes was inducted into the CDSFA Hall of Fame in a surprise ceremony.
At the conclusion of the Volunteer Recognition Dinner, Chairman Armando Gardiman and Hall of Famer Jim Fraser made the announcement to the crowd.
It is a deserved honour for Holmes, who has served football for almost 50 years at local, state, and national level.
Starting his football life at Belmore Police Citizens Boys Club, it did not take long for Holmes to become heavily involved in sports administration as he took on a committee position with his local club.
From there, he progressed to the CDSFA where he was elected the Association’s youngest ever President when he was elected on 1 December 1975 at the age of 19-years-old. Seven years later Holmes was elected President of the NSW Amateur Soccer Federation in 1982.
With football needing an overhaul from the top down, Holmes was soon in a position to help make fundamental change as the General Manager of the NSW Soccer Federation (1987-1991), CEO and Commissioner of the Australian Soccer Federation (1991-1995), General Manager of the NSW Amateur Soccer Federation (1998-1999), General Manager of Soccer Australia (1999-2002), and General Manager of Football NSW (2007-2011).
His services to the national and state governing body coming to a close, Holmes returned to CDSFA in 2012, taking over as CEO in 2014.
In his time as CEO, Holmes was instrumental in securing over $15 million dollars in government grants for the region and its clubs.
Holmes is a Life Member of CDSFA (1982), a Life Member of Football NSW (1987) and a recipient of a NSW Soccer Federation State Award (1991), George Churchward Medal recipient (2016), and Vince and Val Laws Medal recipient (2019).
