AUSTRALIAN football broadcasting icon Les Murray will be a Special Guest Speaker at the Football Hall of Fame WA's 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner/Induction Night at Crown Perth on November 26.
Hall of Fame chairman Louis Prospero said it was a considerable coup to have Murray attend what promises to be a night to remember.
"Les was the best-known face of the game for many years and he is respected and admired throughout Australia. We are delighted that he has agreed to grace what is a milestone event in our efforts to preserve the history of the game in WA," said Prospero.
Murray said: "It is with great honour that I attend the 2016 Football Hall of Fame Western Australia celebrations. From afar I have long watched with admiration the great work being done by the football community of Western Australia.
"Much has been achieved ever since the Western Australian Soccer Football Association was formed in 1896. Many of our greatest Socceroos came out of the West. The creation of Perth Glory in 1995 was one of the benchmark, pioneering events in our country's football history.
"I look forward very much to catching up with my many friends in the West."
Known throughout Australia as Mr Football, Murray has been the face and voice of the game for several decades in his role as host of The World Game, and many other footballing events, on SBS.
After 34 years with the Sydney-based TV channel, he retired from full-time duties in 2014 but still makes occasional appearances to voice his expertise on football matters.
He joined SBS Television in 1980, and his many roles have included being the anchor and executive producer of the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup Final, Australia's National Soccer League (NSL) and covered all of the Socceroos' World Cup campaigns between 1986 and 2006.
Along with his late friend and cohort, the former Socceroos captain Johnny Warren, Les is credited with causing the immense rise in awareness and popularity of football in Australia in the past two decades. It was Les who coined the label 'the world game' in the mid-1980s to describe his beloved sport, a phrase that has since become not only a term of common usage, but a brand in itself.
In 2006 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. He is a member of Football Federation Australia's Hall of Fame. He is a former chairman of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Sports Group and is a director of the Johnny Warren Football Foundation. In 2009 Les received the Australian Sports Commission's Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to sports journalism.
Les's authority and rich experience in sports journalism, broadcasting and business, make him a much sought-after figure, opinion-maker, writer, raconteur and skilled speaker. He has spoken at the United Nations and at many international forums.
He is a former a member of FIFA's Ethics Committee.
*To book tickets to the 20th Anniversary event (cost $180 each) email the following address: admin@footballhalloffamewa.com.au