Football Canada has welcomed three new members to their board of directors, including Arash Madani, Tara Mrakic, and Paul Young. All three were elected by the organization’s membership as directors at large and will serve three-year terms.
Madani is a nationally-recognized sports reporter who previously worked as the director of communications for the Ottawa Renegades and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He is now a member of the national media for Sportsnet and won the George Gross Award from Sports Media Canada in 2017 as the country’s top sports broadcaster.
“Thrilled, humbled and privileged to be elected to Football Canada’s board of directors for the next three years,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “Looking forward to helping grow the amateur game at the tackle, touch and flag levels in our country. Appreciate you having me part of the team.”
The native of Truro, N.S. has also served as a volunteer for the program advisory council for Centennial College’s sports media program and as a moderator of Football Canada’s diversity task force series in 2020-21.
Mrakic has been the head coach of the Vanier College flag football team since 2011 and has earned Coach of the Year honours from the Réseau des Sports étudiants du Québec (RSEQ) three times.
The native of Lasalle Que. is a graduate of the business administration and management program at Vanier College and has worked to increase representation for women and members of the BIPOC community through her work as the executivesSecretary of the Black Canadian Coaches Association (BCCA) and her involvement in their Black Female Mentorship.
Young is a computer engineer who helped lead Football Ontario through the pandemic, serving as their president and guiding governance revisions. Based in Ottawa, he is a Football Ontario certified coach evaluator, learning facilitator, and coaching mentor.
The outgoing members of Football Canada’s board of directors include the Honourable Lois Mitchell, Bryan Crawford, Neil Donnelly, and Ted Goveia, who is the assistant general manager of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Football Canada’s board of directors is composed of a president, nine directors-at-large, and an appointed director. The newly-elected directors will join president Jim Mullin as well as Jay Hetherington, Dale Williams, James Fowler, Jason Lafferty, Steve Figner, and Chantal Lussier.
