Tal Karp (born 30 December 1981) is an Australian women's former Olympic soccer player who represented Australia as a member of the

Matildas The Australia women's national soccer team is overseen by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) si ...

(the Australian Women's Football Team) and captained

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

in the Australian W-League. After representing Australia in the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at s ...

and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Karp retired from football to focus on a career in the law.

Football career

Early and personal life

Karp was born and raised in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, later moved to Melbourne, and is Jewish. Her father was born in Israel. She began her football career competing in the premier boys leagues in Perth, her hometown. Initially Karp was denied entry to the boys league, however when her brother's team did not have enough players, she was offered a chance to compete. After proving herself and kicking the winning goal of the match, Karp was invited to remain on the team. Karp continued to play in Perth's premier boys league from age 7 until age 17, when she relocated to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

International career

Karp represented Australia at a youth level as a member of the Australian Under 16 Squad (1995–97), the Australian Under 19 Team (1998), and the Australian Schoolgirls Team (1997, named Fairest and Best). Karp was first selected to play for the

in 2002 at age 20 for the Matildas' tour to Canada and the US, becoming the first Western Australian field player to play for the Australian team since 1996. During her football career, Karp accumulated 27 'caps' for her country. Highlights of Karp's career included her performance in the Nike 2002 Women's U.S. Cup and in the

FIFA Women's World Cup 2003 The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at s ...

, throughout which she was a 'starting eleven' player for the Matildas. Karp was also a member, at the age of 22, of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Women's Soccer Team, which placed fifth in the Olympic competition.

Club career

Karp competed for her home state of WA in national championships from the age of 11 in under 16 national competition, age 12 in the under 19 age category, and age 14 in senior national competition. When the

Women's National Soccer League The Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) was Australia's top women's association football league. Originally known as the Ansett Australia Summer Series for sponsorship reasons, the WNSL began in 1996 consisting of six clubs and continued thro ...

was formed, Karp was drafted to play for the Canberra Eclipse (1996). Karp later played for South Australia, (Runner-up League Winners 1997/1998), before returning to the Canberra Eclipse for a further five seasons (League Winners 2001/2002, Julie Dolan Medal runner up 2002). Karp returned to Perth to play for the Western Waves in 2004. Karp held an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

Scholarship from 2002 until the end of 2004, and various state and territory sports scholarships during her club career. In 2005, Karp retired from football to focus on a career in law. However, in 2008, she returned to the game to captain the

Women's Team in the inaugural season of the Westfield W-League. Karp also competed for Melbourne Victory in the 2009/10 season.

Legal career

Tal Karp graduated from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

(ANU) in 2006 with a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours and the Blackburn Medal for Research in Law. Karp also completed a Bachelor of Arts (History). Following university, Karp went on to complete her Articles of Clerkship at Mallesons Stephen Jacques (now King and Wood Mallesons) in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, before undertaking an Associateship with Justice Hayne of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

. Karp has held senior legal practice, policy, strategy and advisory roles and regularly appears as an advocate in complex civil and criminal matters. In 2014, she appeared as junior for

Victoria Legal Aid Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), formerly the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria, is an organisation that provides information, legal advice and education with a focus on the prevention and early resolution of legal problems. They prioritise intensive l ...

in Victoria's first Guideline Judgment.

Other roles

Karp is a board director of

Football Federation Victoria Football Victoria is the state governing body for soccer in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the sport's national governing body. History Football Victoria began operation in 1884 under the name Anglo Australian ...

and a member of the

Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...

. She has previously served as a Tribunal Member for Football Federation Victoria. She is also a qualified coach, holding AFC 'B' Licence Accreditation.

Awards and accolades

Sporting awards

*Named 'most valuable player', Under 16 Australian national competition, 1997 *Named 'fairest and best player', Australian Schoolgirls Team, 1997 *Julie Dolan Medal runner up, Football Federation Australia, 2002 (awarded to the Most Valuable Australian Women's Football Player) *Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship, 2002-2004 * Maccabi Sportswoman of the Year, 2008 *Hall of Fame (for contribution to sport) Maccabi Western Australia, 2010 *Hall of Fame (for contribution to sport) Maccabi Victoria, 2011

Academic awards

*Cindy Sheu Peace and International Friendship Scholarship, 1999 *NSW Bar Association Human Rights Prize, 2004 *Australian National University, Blackburn Medal for Research in Law, 2005 *Chancellors Letter of Commendation for Academic Excellence for advocacy performance for the Australian National University in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, 2005

References

External links

W-League Team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karp, Tal Living people 1981 births Australian women's soccer players Australian Jews Australian people of Israeli descent Jewish footballers Sportswomen from Western Australia Soccer players from Perth, Western Australia Olympic soccer players of Australia Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players Australia women's international soccer players Melbourne Victory FC (A-League Women) players A-League Women players Women's association football midfielders