WA FOOTY IN FOCUS: All roads lead Brad Wira to CEO of Football WA role

All pathways led Brad Wira to his new position as CEO of Football WA. The 54-year-old stepped away from his role as a Football WA director to go through what he describes as a “strenuous” three-month independent interview process. A product of Claremont’s fertile Albany recruiting zone, Wira has experience at all levels of football. He was a foundation player with the Dockers in their inaugural 1995 season, before moving to the Western Bulldogs and returning for a second stint at Fremantle. He played 96 AFL games across seven seasons as well as 122 WAFL matches with the Tigers and represented WA at Origin and State league level. In retirement, he coached WA’s State 18s sides in National Under-18s Championship campaigns in 2010 and 2011, was an assistant and caretaker coach with Claremont’s league team, as well as steering the WAFL State side. He also spent a decade as part of the coaching structure at Hale School in five Alcock Cups. Away from the field, Wira spent more than two decades as a principal and private wealth adviser at Shadforth Financial Group, advising professional athletes, coaches and sporting organisations. He was an adviser to both the AFL players and coaches’ associations through their financial education programs and the AFL Industry Superannuation Fund. He joined the WA Football board in December 2024 and served on its Talent Pathway Review committee before stepping down to fill the CEO role. He has been married to Amanda for 17 years and is a proud footy dad, their 16-year-old son Jack is a Year 11 student at Hale School and a player with Wembley Junior Football Club. “If you look at my life as a flow chart, and pardon the financial term, but my life for 25 years has been in finance and footy, from Albany and coming through the talent pathway for Claremont, the evolution of playing league footy into the Fremantle trade across the country,” he said. “All the pieces of the puzzle led to this.” ORIGIN AT OPTUS, YES Wira believes the State is in the box seat to become the regular host of State of Origin, which is set to be played at Optus Stadium for a second successive year next February. “Is it WA’s? I think it is,” Wira told the West Australian. “I love it and am a massive supporter of it. I was lucky enough to play it and in the last one for WA before it returned last year. The WA football public loved it. There were near enough to 60,000 at the stadium. “I think it’s sustainable., but we have to be smart not to saturate it. We’ve now had a taste of it with WA and Victoria. “South Australia is such a key component too, but don’t discount the Allies. We’ve now had a period of time where our State 18s have been playing them long enough that they have affiliation to that. So some of the boys out in New South Wales or Queensland, or do they have that affiliation to put a team together? The answer might be yes.” Following the success of the WA-Victoria game this year, SA is expected to play at Optus next season. The AFL is believed to be looking at an SA-Victoria clash at Adelaide Oval in 2028 before Origin is expanded into a four-team carnival with the Allies also taking part in Perth in 2029. The WA Government is believed to have paid the AFL $3.5 million for the right to host Origin with estimates the economic return was $5 for every $1 spent. Wira would not speculate on what Origin would look like next season, only that he backed its return, but but also flagged another Indigenous All Stars game, after 37,865 watched a representative team skippered by Michael Walters beat Fremantle by 43 points in the 2025 pre-season. “Is Origin a two-year thing? Is it an annual thing? Stakeholder engagement is massive. The players bought in. They love it. You go and talk to them, they would do it all the time,” Wira said. FUNDING REVIEW PART I WA Football is reviewing one of the major sources of income that runs the game at all levels in the State, the annual royalties from the two WA AFL clubs, which have fluctuated since COVID. West Coast’s contribution fell from $3.8 million in 2021 to $1.78m in 2024, but rose again to $2.04m in 2025 despite the club finishing last on the AFL ladder in 2025 and 16th year before. Fremantle’s portion has also fluctuated, from $1.91m in 2021 to $2.2m in 2022, with decreases over the past two seasons, from $1.84m in 2023 to $1.23m in 2024 and a slight rise in 2025 to $1.51m. Wira and WA Football board member, PwC partner Martina Crowley, have been working closely with Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick and West Coast chief Don Pyke and their respective chairs Chris Sutherland and Elizabeth Gaines. Both are former teammates of Wira. “Both of the both of the AFL clubs understand that the more money that that we get, the better that that helps us in this circle,” Wira told The West Australian. “We are in a really good place with them at the moment in our discussions and we are all open to looking at alternative models. “There is acknowledgement from all parties that WA Football would like more but also really respective of the mandate that we as the licence owners charge the clubs with – winning games of AFL Football and ultimately premierships. We are really confident that we will reach a model that benefits all parties. “The more they put into the system, the better the outcomes. “We understand that it’s been the same for a period of time and need to refine, enhance, improve. We are really confident that we’ll come up with a revenue stream that works for both. “I’m not sure if it’d be a different model, but certainly one that sees both parties benefit from the more money that goes into WA footy.” FUNDING REVIEW PART II For more than 12 months, WA Football has been locked in negotiations with the State Government in a 10-year review of a 50-year funding deal as compensation for the shift from Subiaco Oval to Optus Stadium in 2018. The figure was estimated at $11.5 million linked to the Consumer Price Index Rises, which is now believed to sit at around $14 million, and forms the key component of WA Football’s sustainable funding model for football at all levels. Wira would not comment on speculation WA Football wanted a greater share of revenue from the stadium as part of the deal, but said it was “prudent’ governance to look at a review of the model. “We are really confident with the continued consultation we are having with the State Government,” Wira said. “Does good governance suggest you try and tweak the model a bit? I think it does. Now that may not happen, but I think both sides, WA Football and the State Government, are open in discussions.”