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Kevin Sheedy AO

Legendary AFL Player & Coach, Author & Keynote Speaker

AFL legend Kevin Sheedy has played and coached over 1,000 games, winning eight premierships. Hall of Famer, innovator, and Order of Australia recipient, he inspires audiences with insights on leadership, high performance, team building, and creating winning cultures both on and off the field.

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Kevin Sheedy is a legend of the Australian Football League, with a career spanning over five decades as a player, coach, and mentor. Across more than 1,000 games, Kevin has won eight premierships and shaped the AFL with his vision, innovation, and leadership.

From 1967 to 1979, Kevin played 251 games with Richmond Football Club, contributing to premiership victories in 1969, 1973 and 1974, and serving as skills coach for the 1980 premiership team. In 1981, he was appointed Senior Coach at Essendon Football Club, where he coached a record 635 matches over 27 years, guiding the club to 19 finals series and four premierships (1984, 1985, 1993, 2000), along with six night grand finals. Kevin returned to Essendon in 2015 as General Manager, Commercial Development and Innovation.

Kevin’s impact extends beyond coaching. He initiated the ANZAC Day Match between Essendon and Collingwood to honour Australia’s service personnel, now a marquee AFL event, and introduced the Dreamtime match to celebrate Indigenous players. He also launched the AFL Country Match to raise awareness of the challenges faced by regional communities. Kevin was the inaugural coach and later Director of the GWS Giants, leaving a lasting legacy at the club.

A member of the AFL Hall of Fame and recipient of the Order of Australia, Kevin holds life memberships at Richmond, Essendon, and GWS, and was elevated to Immortal status by Essendon in 2022. He has received Advance Australia Awards and honorary doctorates from Australian Catholic University and the University of Western Sydney.

Kevin is the author or co-author of nine books, including The 500 Club, Stand Your Ground, and Icons of Footy. He is a sought-after keynote and after-dinner speaker, providing insights into leadership, team-building, innovation, and high performance.

Beyond football, Kevin is a community leader and mentor. He founded AFL SportReady, which has provided employment and education opportunities for over 14,000 young Australians, including 2,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. He is also an ambassador for the Bravery Trust, supporting veterans and their families, and serves as an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador.

Kevin Sheedy is a man of vision, innovation, and influence—a sporting icon, a community champion, and an inspirational speaker for audiences across all sectors.

Excellent, a perfect fit. Kevin slotted into the event like he was one of our own staff. He stayed for the duration of the event and virtually spoke to everyone in the room. Kevin posed for photos and signed autographs, and his address was not only highly entertaining but relevant to our objectives on the night. He is a true legend. Insurance Group Australia
Kevin was excellent, he engaged the audience fully and was very energetic and enthusiastic. All comments from the attendees were positive and I would most certainly recommend him to anyone who was looking for a very adaptable speaker who can engage all levels of the community and business world. Victorian Institute of Water Administration
One of the best aspects of Kevin's presentation from our group's perspecitive was that Kevin talks from his own experiences in regard to coaching and building a business (football club and national league) which allows individuals to draw there own business parallels. Kevin was also very entertaining. Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Very relevant, inspiring and entertaining. Lots of positive feedback. He filled the room with positive energy. Northland Shopping Centre
He was a real surprise package for us..exceeded our expectations and the ladies loved him. So generous of his time and so genuine. He was a big hit - he can clearly relate to people at all levels and he was there over an hour early, listening to the earlier speaker, he signed books etc and made the day. E-Matrix Training
Excellent, a perfect fit. Kevin slotted into the event like he was one of our own staff. He stayed for the duration of the event and virtually spoke to everyone in the room. Kevin posed for photos and signed autographs, and his address was not only highly entertaining but relevant to our objectives on the night. He is a true legend. Insurance Group Australia
Kevin was very highly rated by the audience, with 85% of participants saying that he exceeded their expectations of the session. He was engaging and made the content relevant to the audience. Audience comments include: "Terrific way to end the conference with such an extraordinary bloke, who believed in the simple philosophy of one good idea, seeing beyond your backyard, being grounded and knowing who you are, reducing the bullshit and enjoying your job and life. Thanks very much" and "Thought this was the best part of the conference - his brief was relevant to our jobs and was thought provoking - great choice of speaker" NSW Secondary Deputy Principal's Association
He was very well received and rated well. He drew on his experience to give the audience a broader insight into building and developing talented teams Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST)
Very well he was personable and all levels of people within our audience enjoyed his talk Veolia Environmental Services Pty Ltd (NSW Office)
The audience was totally engaged, Kevin summed up the audience very quickly and directed comments and questions towards members of the team. They talked in glowing terms about the session for the remainder of the evening. WFI/IAG
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