Spirit of Sport
Watch our latest community initiatives as part of our 'Sharing the Spirit' program.
Qantas is a proud sponsor of the following sports and events:
Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union is the governing body for Rugby in Australia, responsible for the development of the game from juniors right through to the Qantas Wallabies. Rugby Union has a long and rich history in Australia, with reports of games played in Sydney between crews of visiting ships in the 1820s, and the formation of the first Australian Rugby Club, Sydney University in 1864.
2009 Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series
The Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series is the premier national competition played in Australia each year between the Qantas Wallabies and selected international teams. The Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations Tournament are part of the Series, and the Qantas Wallabies will be working towards gaining both of these Titles in their battle against New Zealand and South Africa.
Fans across the country still have the opportunity to experience world class Rugby in 2009, with Test Matches still to be played in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.
2009 Spring Tour
The Qantas Wallabies will head to the United Kingdom in November 2009 as part of their 2009 Spring Tour. They will face some formidable opponents including the All Blacks, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Full match details for all Qantas Wallabies fixtures can be found at Australian Rugby Union (ARU).
Qantas is proud to be the Naming Rights Sponsor of the Qantas Wallabies and has been a valued supporter of Rugby at all levels for over a decade. We look forward to supporting them throughout the rest of the 2009 season and beyond.
Sydney FC
In the short history of the Hyundai A-League, Sydney FC has notched up an impressive list of credentials. This includes winning the inaugural Hyundai A-League Grand Final, qualifying for the Club World Championships and the AFC Asian Champions League 2007, and the first club to compete in the Pan-Pacific Championships in Hawaii.
Off the field over 500,000 spectators attended home matches at Sydney Football Stadium in its first three seasons, with membership numbers reaching new highs in version 4 of the league. In November 2007 Sydney FC also made history when they defeated LA Galaxy in front of 80,000 fans at the nation's highest ever attended Club game.
On the playing side, new recruits Stuart Musialik and Mark Bridge recently competed as members of the Qantas U23 squad in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Coach John Kosmina also strengthened Sydney's squad with other key signings in marquee player John Aloisi, Socceroo Simon Colosimo and rising star Shannon Cole as the team aim for a second A-League title.
Football Federation Australia
The Football Federation Australia is the governing body of the game of football in Australia. Football is the most popular sport in the world and is played by more than one million people in Australia.
Qantas is the Official Partner and Airline of the Qantas Socceroos, the FFA and the Hyundai A-League. Qantas is also proud to support the Australian Football men's teams; the Qantas Under 23s, the Qantas Young Socceroos, the Qantas Joeys and the Qantas Futsalroos.
Qantas Socceroos
Congratulations to the Qantas Socceroos who successfully qualified for the World Cup next year. In the final stages of their world cup qualification campaign in June 2009, the Qantas Socceroos played three crucial games, one in Doha (Qatar), one in Sydney and one in Melbourne, which saw them secure a place in South Africa 2010. The FFA commissioned a special Qantas Boeing 767 to carry the team from Qatar to Sydney, with a range of special amenities including massage tables to ensure the team were well rested and ready to play their big games in Australia.
We are behind the Qantas Socceroos every step of the way and we look forward to supporting them in South Africa.
You can view exclusive Qantas Socceroos content and keep up to date with the latest football news and promotions by downloading the Football Widget.
Just visit qantas.com/football.
Hyundai A-League
The 2009/2010 season of football's premier domestic competition, the Hyundai A-League kicks off on 6 August 2009.
There are two exciting new teams this season, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury plus the return of Qantas Socceroos Jason Culina for Gold Coast United, Mile Sterjovski and Jacob Burns for Perth Glory, as well as former Liverpool star player Robbie Fowler for North Queensland Fury.
You can view the full season schedule at the official A-League website.
Qantas is a proud supporter of football in Australia and wish all the teams the best of luck.
AFL
The Australian Football League (AFL) matches are played in every state and territory in Australia and boasts the nation's biggest sporting attendances.
In 2008, 7.08 million people attended AFL matches.
There are 16 clubs which play 22 rounds from late March to August. The finals series is played in September and the AFL Grand Final is played on the last Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The AFL continues to grow with a number of new records set in 2009:
- There are 586,748 club members in 2009.
- There are more than 735,000 Australian football participants throughout the country.
- There are 82 Indigenous players currently on AFL club lists which represents 11 percent of the playing group.
The Qantas AFL Kickstart Camp is an annual event held in Melbourne giving fifty Indigenous youths aged between 14 and 15 the opportunity of a lifetime. The talented young players are personally selected by AFL State Development Officers across Australia. The camp teaches participants skills which help them reach their goals. They also meet and learn from role models such as Qantas Ambassador Catherine Freeman and AFL Ambassador Michael Long.
Qantas is the official airline of the AFL and is the Major Partner of the AFL Indigenous Programs which includes naming rights of the Qantas AFL Kickstart program and the Qantas Indigenous All Stars team, and is also major support partner of the Indigenous Round.
Qantas is proud to have been the airline behind the AFL for over six years.
Australian Olympic Committee
The Australian Olympic Committee is committed to Australia's athletes and encourages the development of high performance sport through athlete support and funding initiatives. Our role also extends to spreading the Olympic spirit and ideals throughout the wider community, even in the years between Olympic Games.
It is the AOC's responsibility to select, send and fund Australian Teams to the Olympic Summer and Winter Games.
The AOC is also committed to the education of Australia's youth through programs including the a.s.p.i.r.e. school network, the annual Pierre de Coubertin Awards and State & National Australian Olympic Academies.
The Australian Youth Olympic Festival is an initiative of the AOC held bi-annually as a legacy of the Sydney 2000 Games. The fifth Australian Youth Olympic Festival was held in Sydney from 14 to 18 January 2009, featuring 1550 athletes from around the world competing in 17 Olympic sports.
Qantas has been a proud partner of the AOC for over forty years and was the official airline of the 2008 Australian Olympic Team. Qantas announced the extension of their support of the Australian Olympic Team for another 4 years and will carry the team to and from Vancouver, Canada in 2010 and London in 2012.
Ambassadors
John Eales
John has been a Qantas Ambassador since 2004 and is proud to be the host of the Qantas Wallabies Rugby Experience and Captains Run events. The Qantas Wallabies Experience allows Frequent Flyers and Qantas staff to share in what it is like to be a Wallaby on match day. It includes a tour of the locker room, stadium facilities and to view footage of historic matches. The Experience culminates with a clinic on the pitch, where Australian rugby history has been created.
John Eales played 86 test matches for Australia, 55 as Captain and throughout his career, participated in two successful World Cup campaigns, led Australia to three Bledisloe Cup wins and two Tri-Nations trophies. He also led the Wallabies to the first ever defeat of the British and Irish Lions.
John Eales continues to be a great ambassador for Qantas and Rugby.
Kieren Perkins
Kieren Perkins is a dual Olympic Gold Medallist, former World Record holder and a highly experienced motivator. He has been a Qantas Ambassador for over 15 years and is proud to have been involved with many great Qantas community initiatives and events, not only in Australia, but across the globe. Kieren is the host of the Qantas Sharing the Spirit Swim Clinics and it is through these clinics that he is able to share his swimming tips, dreams, successes and disappointments; but most importantly, he can share his enthusiasm for the sport of swimming.
During his career Kieren broke 11 world records and became the first person to hold the Olympic, World, Commonwealth and Pan-Pacific titles simultaneously. In 1993 his achievements were recognised with the Young Australian of the Year Award, and the Order of Australia Medal.
Since his retirement from competition Kieren has been appointed to the board of the Starlight's Children's Foundation and is now bringing his experience to the corporate world as a Director of the global consultancy, rogenSi.
Catherine Freeman
Qantas has been a proud supporter of Catherine for over a decade. The relationship began when she was a young, aspiring athlete and has continued throughout her running career, which culminated in Sydney Olympics 2000 with one of the most memorable Australian victories in sporting history. Qantas and Catherine have continued their relationship into her retirement from sport and the relationship has been cemented by the common interest in promoting participation and educating children through sport in remote and regional communities throughout Australia.
Catherine has recently established the Catherine Freeman Foundation, as a result of the experiences in some of these remote communities. Her participation with the Qantas Ambassador program has shown Catherine that she has the ability to effect positive change in lots of children around Australia. Catherine is very proud to be a Qantas Ambassador.
Mark Schwarzer
Qantas Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has been a Qantas Ambassador since 2005. In 2007, Mark teamed up with Neil Montagnama-Wallace for the first instalment of a planned 5 book series called 'Megs'. In conjunction with the launch of the first book 'Megs & the Vootball Kids' Qantas ran football clinics which comprised of a number of activities where the children, aged between eight and eleven years, learned a variety of football techniques.
Mark says the book is a reflection of Australia's diverse society, and was thrilled that through the Qantas Sharing the Spirit program, he was able to meet with young football fans and share in his great love of the game and reading, and highlighting the importance of Australia's diversity.
Leisel Jones
Qantas is a proud sponsor of Olympic and World Champion swimmer and World Record Holder Leisel Jones.
Leisel has broken 14 world records, was the youngest member of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Swimming Team and the youngest ever Olympic medallist in Australia's history when she won silver in the 100m Breaststroke (B) and 4x100m Medley Relay (MR). At 18 years, Leisel brought home Olympic gold, silver and bronze and set a new World Record with the medley relay team at the 2004 Athens Games.
She is currently the world record holder for the 100m breaststroke event and is a member of the world record team for the 4 x 100m medley relay (and holds the short course world records in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events).
She is one of Australia's most celebrated athletes and her story is one of personal growth, inspiration and success.
Greg Norman
Greg Norman has been a Qantas Ambassador since 1976. Throughout his career Greg has won 86 professional events around the world, including 20 US PGA Tour titles, spent 331 weeks as the world's number one ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
He now serves as Chairman and CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises and is global ambassador for both golf and Australia.
