This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

29th June 2011

Go Cats: Watching Aussie Rules Football

I was invited to watch a holiday weekend footy match, another Australian tradition. I had decided that I needed to choose an Aussie Rules team to support, so I opted for the Geelong Cats (on the personal advice of the State Premier of Victoria, where the game is mostly played).

Geelong President Colin Carter filled me in on the club’s distinguished history. It dates from 1859 which makes it 19 years older than Manchester United, the team I support in the UK. It last won the Grand Final in 2009.

Watching any sport played at the top level is an exhilarating experience. But when it’s played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, one of the world’s great temples of sport, packed with some 63,000 fans, that’s even more the case. I’d never really followed AFL before coming to Australia, because I think you have to see it live to really appreciate it. It’s a fantastically fast flowing game – players run up to 20km in a match – and there can be lots of goals.

I sat between two members of parliament, who generously took the time to explain the finer points of the game to me. Their enthusiasm was infectious. This was a really close match: the Cats were ahead for the first two quarters, the Hawks pulled ahead in the third. In the final quarter, Geelong clawed their way back to lead 88 to 83 and hung on for the final nail-biting minutes. Sweet victory. I definitely intend to go back and see some more.

About Paul Madden

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017. He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia…

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017.

He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia until February 2015. Prior to this he was British High Commissioner in Singapore from 2007-2011.

A career diplomat, he was previously Managing Director at UK Trade and Investment (2004-2006), responsible for co-ordinating and
implementing international trade development strategies to support
companies across a wide range of business sectors.

As Assistant Director of Information at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (2003-2004) he was responsible for public diplomacy policy,
including managing the FCO funding of the BBC World Service, the British
Council and the Chevening Scholarships programme. He led the team
responsible for the award-winning UK pavilion at the Aichi Expo in Japan
2005.

He was Deputy High Commissioner in Singapore from 2000-2003 and has
also served in Washington (1996-2000) and Tokyo (1988-92). Between
1992-96 he worked on EU enlargement and Environmental issues at the FCO
in London.

Before joining FCO he worked at the Department of Trade and Industry
(1980-87) on a range of industrial sectors and trade policy, including
two years as a minister’s Private Secretary.

He has an MA in Economic Geography from Cambridge University, an MBA
from Durham University, studied Japanese at London University’s School
of Oriental and African Studies, and is a Fellow of the Royal
Geographical Society. His first book, Raffles: Lessons in Business
Leadership, was published in 2003.

Married to Sarah, with three children, he was born in 1959, in Devon.

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