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Stories of Wonder platforms and celebrates the real impact Deakin students, alumni, researchers and staff are making in the world, right now.
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B
Chantella Perera is a trailblazer
whose career
spans over 150 WNBL games,
multiple seasons of AFLW,
global sports leadership,
and powerful advocacy for women and girls
in sport.
From dual athlete
to shaping the future of sport,
Chantella’s story is one of
courage, connection
and limitless possibility.
From the lands of the Wurundjeri People,
This is Stories of Wonder.
- Chantella Perera, welcome
to" Stories of Wonder. "-
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
- Pleasure.
So you have an incredibly
interesting sporting resume
from over 150 WNBL games
winning championships
with the Canberra Capitals
and Bendigo spirit to later becoming
an inaugural West Coast
Eagles, AFLW player
to the general group
manager of KOJO Sport,
and recently the president
of Women Sport Australia.
How did this all begin?
Can you tell us a little
bit about your path
into your career?
- Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, thank you.
It sounds a lot when you say it like that.
- Yeah, you put it back to back like that.
- It's probably good not to
think about it like that.
Yeah, look, my story kinda goes way back.
I guess my parents are from Sri Lanka,
so I'm first generation
Australian, so I was born here.
I guess for me, I was quite fortunate,
my parents were really
sporty, so they came here
and put us into sport.
I've got an older sister
and put us into sport pretty
early, which I think for me,
fit who I was or maybe
that helped shape who I am.
I kind of went from playing
with the boy up the street
and joined the local basketball team
and kinda just kept going from there.
So kind of went
through the pathways in
Victoria in the basketball space
and yeah, I was fortunate to play in lots
of different competitions
and I had kind of a dream of
becoming an Australian opal.
So I kind of did everything
that I thought I could do to try
and achieve that.
And I was kind of lucky
enough to go to the States
and get a scholarship
and do the college system,
which was really exciting
as, you know, 17- year-old
and you get to leave home
and go live in California and yeah.
- So young to be having
some of those experiences.
And was it always basketball for you?
- It was always basketball.
- Interesting.
- Basketball was the dream.
So yeah, Penny Taylor was my idol.
She played at the club
just down the road here
at Nunawading and yeah, I was
just kind of aspired to do
what she had done or she was doing
and that kind of motivated me
and it was really, yeah,
it was pretty cool.
I think reflecting back
and seeing where I'm today
and to know that I had a
female role model like that
was pretty cool.
And I think that's driven a
lot of like what I do today.
But yeah, I guess the journey
just kept going for me
and I was really fortunate to play
in lots of different
levels, travel the world.
- Yeah, let's talk about it.
150 WNBL games and a stint
in the US college system
and representing Australia.
Like what, what are some
of the other highlights
of your WNBL career?
- Yeah, I think being able to, you know,
I like was very fortunate
to win championships
and four is pretty cool.
- Yeah, it's pretty nice number.
- Yeah, it's pretty nice number.
I think it's probably time
to get them all framed now.
It's, yeah, I think
being able to look back
and go 'I played 150 games
and won for championships', you know,
I guess the numbers are one thing,
but it's probably more
now that I've finished
is to look back and go, oh,
it's actually the friendships.
They were the really cool things
and I think now that
it's been a little while
and I actually caught up with
some girls that I played with
during that time
and it just kind of reminded me that like,
it felt like no time had passed.
And I think that's good
testament to the friendships
that I had and all the connection,
you spend a lot of time
with each other when you're playing sport,
which is really cool.
And I think really that's,
as much as I was very driven
and very determined to
get to my very best,
I probably in hindsight didn't realise
how much I enjoyed just the connection
and that team, comradery
and all the like friendships that I made
across the many teams that I played on
and all the years that
you spend on the court
and I guess off the court with them,
- Well, you then, it
wasn't just basketball,
you then made the transition to AFLW.
- Yes.
- Simply after seeing a poster for a come
and tribe with the Box Hill Hawks,
which is like down the
road from where we are now.
This was in 2016.
And then after only a few
seasons, you were drafted
to the West Coast Eagles.
I mean, that's pretty impressive.
Like what was that
transition from, you know,
basketball to AFL like?
- Yeah, I think looking back I'm like,
" Gosh, that was crazy. "
But I think at the time,
" Look, I kinda reached the end
of my basketball kinda journey. "
I think being realistic
also, like I was like,
oh, I'm in my late 20s
The reality of being a female athlete
and trying to balance the
trying to work, study,
play professional sport,
but not getting paid enough.
Like I think that kind of
took a toll really on me
by that kind of age of being,
I guess on the road a lot.
Like basketball's a sport
where you kind of not
necessarily fixed in one place.
So I think, you know,
being a professional athlete sounds cool.
It is cool,
but it does come with,
you know, the challenges
and that meant like, you
know, I hadn't really lived
in one spot since I was 17, so.
- Wow.
- So yeah, I think at the
end of the day, I was like,
I think I've got all I
could from basketball
and it was kind of time
to look for what's next,
but also time to get a job.
So a job that paid, I should say.
And so yeah,
I had always worked throughout
my basketball career.
Like I'd always had had to work to-
- What were you doing.
- In order to pay the bills.
So I started as a grad accountant,
which actually led me to Deakin.
So I always worked with
sponsors of the clubs
that I played for, which was helpful'
cause it's quite difficult
to get jobs otherwise.
And when you're in an accounting firm,
you need to be either an
accountant or studying accounting.
So that's where I enrolled at Deakin
and I started my masters
of professional accounting.
So that was kind of my
first step into postgrad,
but also just kind of led
me into the path of like,
what kind of do I wanna do in my life
while I was doing the dream
or trying to attain the dream.
And yeah, so I kind of
took those steps through
and yeah, I moved into
a digital producer role
when I left basketball.
I was lucky enough to
get a maternity cover
contract at an agency,
which funnily enough
is where I still am today.
So the contract role has turned
into quite the permanent role.
12 years later.
But yeah, it was a
good, good little pivot.
But yeah, I guess alongside that,
I probably realised I hadn't
completely fulfilled the sporting dreams.
- Yeah.
So did you take a little bit of a break?
- I kind of just played
at a semi-professional level basketball,
so NBL1, which is called now.
I played that which is a bit more like,
not as intense I guess.
And yeah, I just saw,
so one of our clients
was Hawthorn Footy Club
at work and I saw they had a 'come and try'
and I was like, wow, no intention
of ever doing this professionally,
just more I missed having teammates.
I missed that connection.
Yeah, I missed, I kind
of spent my whole life
with 10 other girls
always kind of by my side.
So I think to not have that
was really challenging.
- It would've been a shock, right?
- Yeah, it was.
So I think it was quite,
for me, it was more about like,
how do I get that community
back into my life?
And it was more in the intention of like,
I just wanna kind of find,
find some new friends,
have some have a go at this thing.
It was when AFLW was
coming into our landscape,
becoming more prominent.
Obviously, the professional
league was coming
into I guess the everyday
world, which was great.
So it was obviously gaining
more attention. Yeah.
And I think obviously,
from a participation
perspective, they were looking
for just the athletes.
Obviously, given women hadn't
been allowed to play football,
so the talent pool was not as deep,
so they had to look at different angles.
So I think for me it
was obviously fortunate,
A good athlete can kind of adapt.
Never though had played football
in my life, I'll just say.
- How interesting though you've
got this humble little goal
of really just wanting
to play with teammates,
wanting that sense of community.
But you know, all of a sudden
you find yourself, you know,
in a whole new sport at a,
you know, semi-professional
or professional kind
of level very quickly.
- Yeah, yeah.
Look, I think probably lucky,
I've just always been well
drilled into that life,
so nothing was really a
shock for me in that space.
I think for a lot of other
girls that was a big jump
because football, amateur
football, you know,
just definitely didn't have the resources
or the structure that I guess I had had
as an athlete in the basketball system.
Like we'd been very used
to that and discipline.
So I think that was second nature to me.
But what was really difficult
was just actually learning
to play the sport.
- Yeah, I was gonna say like skill wise,
it is a completely different thing, right?
Between basketball and like footy.
- Yeah, I think look, innately,
I think there's skills
that were transferable.
I think it's probably
a good sport to be able
to transfer from.
And I was able to kind
of, I had good coach
and they kind of recognised my talents
and put me were it made sense.
But having not played footy,
being kid of Sri Lankan
parents, obviously like
AFL was not a thing to them.
So my only exposure was really
what I saw on TV or around me.
So I kind of wasn't your, I guess,
stereotypical Aussie kid.
We were kicking a footy
in the back backyard.
I played basketball in the backyard,
so I'd never really done that.
So for me, kicking was really hard.
But it's just really interesting
I guess around learning
what your environment is around you
and how that really shapes what you do.
So I think a lot of these
things have been really good.
And I kind of say,
although that journey I'd
never planned for that,
it's been really great for
where I am today to be able
to have learned how to do
something completely new.
And I think it probably speaks to who I am.
I just kind of like to do things
that completely challenge
me and keep me on my toes.
I think most of my friends
would be like, " Yeah,
you just never sit still. "
Always looking for something
to kind of keep going and outside the box.
So yeah, it was a whole,
it was a whole journey
and getting drafted to the W was-
- Incredible.
- A whole different chapter.
Like I think playing VFL is one thing
and then going, going
into the W over in Perth
completely across the
other side of the country.
- And was it ever like a
consideration in your mind
not to do that?
Were you sure that that's
what you wanted to?
- Definitely had no
consideration of doing it.
I was really fortunate
and, you know, I'm a big
believer in everything happens
for a reason and Adam Selwood,
who's obviously passed
since, but he recruited me
and he spent a lot of time talking to me
and about what his vision was.
And for me, I just really resonated
with what he was saying
and what he wanted to do.
And for me, it was more about not so much
about going over for myself.
Like I think for me,
what I'd done in sport,
I kind of achieved, you
know, what I wanted to,
and, you know, almost
achieved everything I could.
And I guess that this was
never part of the plan.
But the idea of being able
to create something new,
to give women and girls an opportunity
to see what's possible and
be able to be part of that
and help shape that, I think
probably was a start of, for me,
of like seeing how I
can give back to sport.
And I think for me, that is probably
what I find really resonates with me
and it kind of feels like why
I was put on this earth is
just to be able to give back
and create some impact.
And I think that was probably the start.
He kind of showed me.
Yeah, I could really see it
through what he was trying to achieve.
And yeah, I think for me,
once he kind of did the spiel
and we'd had the conversations
and I'd seen the opportunity over there
and I thought it was kind of
too good not to give it a go
and you know, there was
some logistical things
to work through, but other than that,
I think it was kind of an opportunity
you couldn't really pass up.
- Yeah, and did you find
the community sort of vibe
that you were looking for and that support
that you had missed?
- Yeah, absolutely.
And probably more than I
had ever thought as well.
So it was really interesting
to go from basketball
to footy. Footy's got a
very big community sense
and I think that probably comes
from the way it's developed
from grassroots and having been
more part of the system now,
I think I can see that.
It's got a real community
feel from a very young age.
And I think that's just the way
that environment's been built.
And I guess, yeah, I was really lucky
to also just have such a good group
of girls both at Box Hill, Hawthorn
and then at West Coast
and some of, you know, my best mates now
are from both of those clubs
and yeah, I think, yeah, again,
like everything happens for a reason.
But yeah, I think I was brought together
with those people and we all
kind of had a similar mentality
and I think given where the
sport was for women, a lot of us
were trying to do the same thing I think,
and just make it something
that we knew it could all be.
And I think what it symbolised
for women's sport was just
really important to all of us.
So I think we were able to
really bond and connect over that
and we were all pretty passionate
about making that happen.
- Talk to me a little
bit about your experience
as an elite athlete in
Australia specifically, I guess,
what's that been like for you?
- Yeah, I think again
that that whole footy journey
was really interesting.
And I think given what I do
today, it's been really great
to have had both of those experiences
cause they were completely different.
So obviously played basketball
for majority of my life
and it was a struggle,
like, to be quite honest,
like the resources and the facilities
and the, I guess the things that get put
into that system at
the time I went through
compared to what I received at both VFL
and AFL level was night and day.
Like, yeah, I guess,
you know, having played
at Australian Junior levels
and then playing in the AFLW like, yeah.
And WNBL, which is the equivalent of AFLW.
Yeah, it just doesn't compare.
Obviously, I played for a
very well resourced club
in West Coast, but I
think having seen most
of the clubs in the league, I think that,
I guess the way those clubs are set up
and those systems is really good.
And I think that's where women's
basketball has a long way
to go, even though
considering our national team
is one of the best in the world.
But that's just a small snippet
of what women's sport is.
And I think it's really
interesting to see like,
you know, basketball's
still a top tier sport.
So I kinda hate to think
and I do hear many stories
where I'm at and who I
connect with around what,
like, you know, your tier
two, three sports are like
and it's so different for them
and so much more of a challenge.
At the end of the day,
anybody playing elite sport
should be able to just
concentrate on their sport.
And you shouldn't really have
to worry about the other things.
And the reality is we're just
such a long way off that.
And I guess my experience is, you know,
I was self-disciplined,
I was very motivated
and not to say other people aren't,
but I think that's probably
what got me to where I was.
And I was, you know, also very
fortunate to have my parents
that could fund a lot of what I did
and support me financially.
And I think all of
those things contributed
to how I was able to
become an elite athlete
and stay an elite athlete.
I think the reality
is that our system in Australia
is not set up for that,
not in its entirety.
There's obviously certain
places and levels that it is,
but I think as a whole, we've
still got a long way to go.
So I think being able
to be an elite athlete,
I think we probably need
to redefine what that is
because yeah, I think
you have elite talents
and where you're playing
but how we support the elite pathway
probably still has a bit to go.
- Yeah.
Interesting what you say there about
becoming an elite athlete
versus staying an elite athlete.
Very interesting.
You've spoken in the
past about using sport
as a way to fit in.
What was it like navigating
your personal culture really
and identity as a young woman
in sport in this country?
- Yeah, I probably didn't think much of it
while I was playing.
I think the reality was I
was, I think looking back,
I was pretty naive
and I lived in a bubble of just,
'I wanna be the best and that's
all I'm gonna concentrate on.'
And I probably was pretty
blocked from thinking about
anything outside of that.
I think now that I look back
and I go, okay, actually even to this day,
I am completely in the minority.
If I look around and I
go, 'I don't even know
if there has been or if
there are other Sri Lankan,
but women who have played in the WNBL
or the AFLW', if any,
there's probably only a couple.
And so for me, I kinda look back
and go, 'I was probably playing a role
that I didn't even know I was playing'.
And what's really important
to me now is I realise for me,
as I said before, like I
was just so determined,
like nothing was really gonna stop me
from doing what I wanted to do.
But I can really see
how other people have a different approach
and I can see why being a visible person
and having a role model for someone
that you can resonate with
or be able to understand
from is really important.
And because I look back
now and I look around today
and I go, 'why don't we
have more representation
of, you know, a demographic
and a culture that is so
prevalent in Australian society?'
- Totally.
- And such an important part.
It's what makes Australia so great.
I think having a multicultural
place is what makes us
so unique and we are, you know,
such an inclusive society in many aspects.
Not all, but many.
But I think, you know, when we are,
that's what makes us wonderful
and that's what we all
love about being Victorian
Australian, all of those things.
And I kind of look at sport
and then the reality is
if you look at basketball
and AFL, those two sports
are not well represented.
They're not representative of our culture.
And it doesn't represent the diversity
that makes up our every day.
And so it's not a true representation
of Australia, in my opinion.
And I think for one,
that's going to impact
the growth of sport.
So I think it's a poor business decision
at the end of the day
if you're not gonna talk to those people
because that's where the
growth is gonna come from.
But also sport for me
is a vehicle to connect.
And I talked about connection
and how that's so important.
But I think that's a similar
reason for many people.
So whether you're watching sport,
whether you're playing sport,
a lot of people do that
or engage with sport
because it brings people together.
And I think for me,
not being representative
of what our society is,
that's a problem because
then we are being exclusive.
And I think, yeah, looking back,
I probably wish I had a
little bit more awareness
to use my platform
and where I was to be able
to talk more about it.
But I guess the good
thing is I've realised now
and yeah, I'm pretty vocal about it
because I think it's really important
for us to talk about it.
- And you also, you did it
like someone sort of needs to go first.
Someone needs to, you know,
be one of the early people
to do something and you know,
now that you've done it,
other people can also see it
and know that they can be
it, I guess as they say.
More recently, you've spoken
about experiencing racism
while with your daughter and
how you made a conscious shift
to learn more about your
own cultural background.
Has this changed how you see
yourself or your own identity?
You kind of spoke a little
bit about it at the end
of there in regards to
sport, but just more broadly.
- Yeah, definitely.
I think that was my eye opener.
I think, as I said before,
I probably lived in a
little bit of a bubble
and just really head down.
And I think hearing
that comment made at me
that day probably made me realise
that I probably hadn't
heard a lot of the comments
that had been said.
Look, because I think I'd be naive
to think there was never
another comment made
in my entire life given
how many people I've been
in front of and played in front of.
So I think for me hearing that,
I think for me it was like,
'wow, we're 2025 and like, you
know, that is still something
that we're discussing.'
Like it's still a problem.
And for me, that made
me really look at myself
and go, 'who am I and what
do I mean in this society
and what do I represent?'
And I think that for me
was that eyeopener of,
I think it also really for me
shifts when you have children
and I've got two young daughters
and for me, it feels really important that
they can understand what their culture is,
but also not feel like
they can't talk about it.
And I think because I'd never
talked about my culture,
I just always wanted to fit in
and that's how my parents brought me up
because they wanted to fit in
and to be fair to them, you
know, they were migrants
and they come into
country, they had no idea.
And the natural thing
is you just wanna fit in
because they came here for a better life.
And naturally, that's what
we took on as their kids.
And, you know, that's a
common migrant attitude
and you know, it's a common attitude
for anybody when they wanna, you know,
become part of something else.
But what I think is so
important now is that,
I guess understanding that
racism still really exists
and it's too the everyday person
and it's not just, you
know, out in the big public,
you know, forward-facing
atmosphere, it's kind of just,
you know, I was literally
just on a walk down the street
in my neighbourhood and
that's pretty sad to know
that's where we're still at.
But I think what I've probably,
it was a good chance if I
take the positive out of it,
there's a good chance to reflect
and go what is my culture
and what does that mean to me?'
And I think for me, I
thought I haven't really got
to learn it because I
spent so much of my life
just kinda pretending
that it wasn't there.
I just wanted to be the
same as every other kid,
which at that time was
white Caucasian Australians.
So I think I thought that
was what I had to be.
And what I really understand now is 'no,
that's not what I had to be.
I just needed to be myself', which is,
I'm a first generation Australian
with a beautiful Sri Lankan heritage
and culture that regrettably,
I don't know a lot about
because my mum's not here
anymore and I've only got my dad.
And you know, you kinda lose those ties
and connections as you get older
and your parents get older and Yeah.
You know, you kinda
lose those relationships
and that understanding.
But I'm really determined now
to get a better understanding
and to be able to teach my
children that that's part
of who they are and that they
should be really proud of it.
And I think that my parents
would've said anything otherwise,
it's just that we never thought about it
because it felt like
we just had to fit in.
- Yeah.
- And I think that's
what I want to represent
to people and I want people to understand.
And going back to what I said before
is like sports such a great way
to show representation and to
show that everybody fits in
and it's an evil even playing ground.
- Totally.
Like you said, to also reflect the society
that we are in.
- Yeah, absolutely.
And I think that for me, being able
to talk about this stuff openly
I think, I hope that
helps people talk about it
and have a conversation
and maybe ask other people about it.
And I think that if we
can talk more about it,
it becomes more of the norm
And being able to understand
different people's cultures
and where they've come from
and how they operate and work
and think, it just makes
us better people I think.
- Yeah.
- You know, diversity, you know, I do
so much work in gender
equity for women and girls,
but really I kind of wanna represent
how do we be more diverse
across a range of things,
whether that's your
background, your culture,
your gender, whatever that is.
Because really I think when we
look at how society continues
to evolve and progress, diversity
is really what makes that better.
- And so you mentioned,
you know, you're trying
to build an understanding
with your children of their background.
Like how, how do they identify
at the age that they are?
And I know what lessons have
they taken from you so far?
- They're very little still.
So three and one, so.
- Right, so.
- Probably still a little way to go,
but it's interesting, right?
Because you, it's amazing
how much kids pick up when
they're that age even.
It's been a big eye opener
for me just to even realise
how much little children pick
up from what's around them.
- Like what?
- I mean, gosh,
you can't say anything in
front of a three-year-old.
They have some serious memories.
Like I-
- All the naughty words maybe?
- I said, you can, yeah, yeah,
definitely don't say those.
They'll definitely repeat them.
Definitely don't mention ice cream
and they'll remember 17 days
later that was promised.
But it's really interesting
how much they understand.
So my mum's passed away
and I make a real point to my
daughter to teach her about
who she is and who she was
and that she's still around,
but just in a different way.
And it's really interesting watching her
the way she communicates back about it.
And like we say, there
are only three and one,
but like really that's where we start
to learn our whole environment, right?
So, you know, to her,
mum, dad, her sister,
that's her whole world.
So everything that we say
and do is what really influences I guess
who she's becoming as a person.
And then she'll form her own opinions
of which she definitely
does at three. ( laughs)
He knew they could be
so independent at three,
but, you know, I really want
to be able to expose her
to different things
and to be able to show her that, you know,
we eat these foods and we
have different types of foods
and it's really great to see
her go to kinder and daycare
and come back with different opinions
or like stories she's heard.
And I think that's really cool.
And I think it makes me really proud.
She actually came home the other day
and she said something to me about,
" Mum, we had to do our
Acknowledgement of Country
and thank everybody for the
land that thank the people
for the land that we're on today. "
And I was like, " That's amazing. "
I like, was like, yes.
Like things are progressing,
like we are getting better.
We're gonna soon have a generation where-
- That doesn't know that,
like it's just natural.
- They know no different.
Right? Yep.
And like, that's the goal for me, like,
to kind of leave this
place going, you know,
that they've walked in
and they've gone no, like
there's, there's women,
there's men, there's
whatever you identify as.
There's First Nations Peoples
who brought, you know,
made this land for us
and you know, it's
theirs and we came to it.
And that for me is so important
that we can make that change.
And to see that in a three-year-old,
I think that gives me hope.
I think that's a great
thing about children is,
you know, they can give
you hope that, you know,
things are gonna be better
as much as, you know,
sometimes it's hard to look around
and you go, " There's a long way to go. "
But it's really nice
and refreshing to go, well
a three-year-old gets it,
that means she's gonna
grow up with that attitude.
So how do we kind of harness
foster that and keep that.
I think that's the challenge,
but that's the opportunity.
- Yeah, yeah, definitely.
So like many elite athletes,
you've hung up the boots
and you've opened a new
chapter in your career.
You're now a senior
leader in sport marketing.
So you mentioned a
little bit of it before,
but like how did you get
there from your previous life
as an athlete?
- Yeah, so I was very
fortunate like mum and dad,
they put us in sport from an early age,
but we're always very
concerned and made sure
that we were studying
like every good migrant family.
- Totally, I was gonna say.
- You have to do your studies first
and then you get to go play sport.
I think I managed to bend
the rules a few times,
But yeah, look, I'm really thankful
like as much as I would've
argued about it at the time,
I'm really thankful that I
got my education and studied
and really gained those skills
and to really set me myself up.
And I think the reality is when I said
I kind of stopped basketball
because I thought I needed
to go into the corporate world.
It was because I thought I was behind.
But I think in reality I wasn't.
I just didn't understand that
those skills that I learned
by playing sport were really
transferrable and I think
that's probably something
we really underestimate
at the moment.
- And what's an example of that?
Like what are you talk,
what kind of skills are
you talking about there?
- Look, I think as an athlete,
you learn so many things.
Like you are so disciplined.
I think you're disciplined,
you're structured,
you're motivated, you're
committed, you've very resilient,
you've got a lot of determination
and you have to have a lot of courage.
So I think a lot of those
attributes are things
that you have to really work towards
and you do them innately
as an athlete I think.
I think obviously everyone
has different levels of that,
but I think in order to
be any kind of athlete,
I think you have to have
those skills as a base.
And I think what you would see
is that's a pretty common
thread amongst them all.
And then taking those into, I guess
the office corporate world,
I think they've been really important.
And then if you layer on
things like leadership
and decision making and negotiating,
like they're all things you actually do
on the field on the court.
It just looks different.
But that's no different to like, you know,
I'm sure an engineer has to make decisions
and that looks different
to a lawyer or a doctor.
So it's weird that we look at it that way
and that doesn't seem weird.
But then, you know, I think
we haven't probably gone, oh,
but athletes make decisions
on the field, you know,
they've gotta, you know,
sometimes decide what's gonna win a game
and that totally could be
like, you know, season.
And that is such a transferable skill
and I think what I really liked about
going into, I guess the role I'm in now
is trying to build teams
and I love seeing athletes
come into the business.
Like I think they just innately
have those characteristics
and I'd hire them any day of the week.
- Yeah. Interesting.
So you're fostering this
kind of like, you know,
seeing the value in those skills,
like seeing the potential
in transferable skills.
- Yeah. Yeah.
I think there's a really
important, you know, conversation
for us to have, you know,
Australia's so big on sport
and so many people play it
and we have so many elite
professional athletes
and one big thing is like, how
do we help people transition?
Because it's incredibly difficult
when you've done
something your entire life
to then all of a sudden be
sitting at a desk nine to five
and work out kind of who you are
and how that fits into
your world all of a sudden.
' Cause you know, the beauty
of sport is it takes you
on this beautiful journey,
but the downfall of it is
it can be cut off in a day.
And that's really hard for so many people.
And I mean, you can have the best career,
but the day you choose to retire,
you still the very next day
gotta work out what you do next.
And I don't think we quite
have enough things in place.
And I'd say globally, it's just something
we haven't quite worked out as a society
is how do we help athletes transition
into their next chapter.
And I think more and more
with the diversity of work
and jobs that people
have, it makes it easier.
But yeah, look, if I can encourage people
to look at athletes
and see that they have transferable skills
and maybe the resume looks
a little bit different
from, you know, your traditional resume,
I think there's something
really interesting about that.
And yeah, there's a lot of skills there
that I just don't think you naturally
or inherently get in people
who haven't been athletes.
- Yeah, it's a really good point.
Well, talk to me about Deakin then.
Where does Deakin come into the picture?
What did you study and what
was your experience like?
- Yeah.
So when I was in Canberra,
I joined a accountancy firm
and that's when I
realised I needed to study
something else in order to stay in there.
So yeah, I looked for
a course in accounting
and yeah, I found Deakin
and it felt like the right place for me.
And I think also maybe seeing,
you know, the sports side
of Deakin as well,
it felt probably like the
right cultural vibe for me.
So probably the right fit.
But yeah, being Canberra,
at that time was studying
remotely online.
- Online, yeah.
- So yeah, I ended up doing a master
of professional accounting.
I realised that maybe wasn't
where my strengths lied. ( laughs)
And so I coupled it into a
marketing degree as well.
So yeah, that was
probably where I realised
that that was probably where
my skillsets and interests lied.
- What was it about marketing?
- I think deep down, I'm a creative person
and I think I just like
to think outside the box.
Not that you can't do that in accounting,
but it probably-
- It's a literal spreadsheet.
You can think outside the cell maybe,
but not outside the spreadsheet.
- Yeah, yeah.
I wanted a bit more of a box
to think out of than a cell.
- A bigger box.
- Yeah, a bigger box. A bigger box.
So yeah, I think there was something
that I really liked about that,
but it was probably, I
think there was huge value
in that I worked while I studied
and I had landed a job
just as a receptionist
doing bookkeeping for
a point of sale company.
And you know, I was just
able to help a little bit
with their marketing and
I really got to understand
what that looked like in reality.
And I think when you're studying something
and kind of can see it
in real life as well,
it was really great to have
the two to work together
and kind of keep working on
like what I wanted to do.
And then I moved into a web agency
and learned to be a digital producer
and that kind of kept progressing.
I then worked in like digital advertising
and then yeah, landed at
KOJO, which is where I am now.
And that's a full service creative agency.
We specialise in sport and experiences.
And it for me has kind of
been a nice blend of all
of my skill sets and background
that I've kind of learnt.
I think the beauty of studying
and you know, I was really fortunate
to have a great education both
through my schooling years
into uni, you
know, I studied in the US
so I got a really diverse
perspective there.
And then to come here
and have my postgraduate
studies here, I think for me,
I got a really nice blend
of different Academics.
And I think for me, it's
just really set me up
with my foundations.
But I think when you couple
that with real life experience
and I look at what students get today
and how much exposure
they get to, you know,
what that looks like in their real life,
I think that's really helpful.
And I kinda look back
and like, " Whoa, I wish,
sure these things were there
when I was going through school. "
But it's been really nice to see that
and it's kind of nice to look
back and be able to give back.
- So did you do any
work integrated learning
when you were at Deakin or was it more?
It sounds like it was the other way around
when you were at places
and then doing the degree
allowed you to sort of keep
working there or whatever.
- Yeah, I think that was
the beauty of being able,
and why I chose the
course and the university
is because I wanted to be
able to continue to play
and as you can see,
it's a pretty full load
when you're trying to work
and play professionally,
which is essentially a
full-time job, a part-time job.
And then you're trying
to study on top of it.
And for me, I really needed something
that was really flexible
and what I loved about
Deakin was we were working
in trimesters, which was
really helpful for me
just the way the seasons go as well'
because just needing
something to fit into that
was really helpful.
So sometimes when I was
in a really heavy season,
I'd dulled back down my units
and then when things were a bit lighter,
I could dial up my studying.
And so for me, that was a really big part
of why I wanted a flexible
environment to study'
because it's just not a consistent
life from my other worlds.
And I think being able to have
something that fit in well
with my world was really helpful for me.
- Did you feel supported
while you were studying?
Did you have support from lecturers?
Did you get to talk to other classmates?
It can be, you know, a bit
weird online sometimes.
- Yeah, absolutely.
I think it was probably like,
pre this whole online world I guess.
Back when I was studying,
so I was probably, you know,
slightly ahead of the times really.
But yeah, I found it really good.
Like I was studying in Canberra
and you'd be able to connect
with people all over.
That was really cool.
And I think, yeah,
especially back then, right?
Like online like connection
was just very different.
So I imagine it's even better these days,
but just being able to be
connected with other people
who are doing what you're doing
and yeah, I think just being
able to move in those spaces
and have the support
and everything you need
just at your fingertips is really helpful.
- And did the degree, you know,
you were already kind of
working in some of these fields,
but did it open any doors
for you when you wanted
to kinda step into marketing more broadly?
- Yeah, I think really, it helped me
with as I said, my foundations
and just understanding.
I think also being able to do
both degrees was really great.
As much as I say I didn't
love the accounting side,
- You did it.
- I continued and I finished it
because it was really helpful.
I think now that in my
role that I'm in now,
I think being able to have
a financial background
has been really helpful.
And to be able to have those
skills is really important
and I think you don't
really probably realise it
sometimes until after.
And then the marketing
side obviously gave me
great visibility into what the options are
and what the different disciplines are
and like marketing is such
a broad term these days.
And to be able to see
all the different areas
and give me a taste of what
all those are was really cool.
I probably didn't even understand
what all of those things
are when I enrolled.
And I think being able to go through those
and experience those
or learn about all those
different things is really great.
' Cause you get a really good
idea of what's out there,
what your options are, and when
you are looking for a career
or what that workplace looks like next.
You've got a really good
understanding of what those are
through what you studied.
- Talk to me a bit about KOJO.
You've mentioned it here or there,
you've been there for a while now.
Like what's your current role there
and what's, you know, your day to day job?
- Yeah, so I'm the group general manager.
I look after the sport and
experiences side of the business.
I predominantly look
after the APAC business.
We are fortunate,
we're part of a parent
company called the PNY Group,
which technology company.
And so they are a global business.
So I spend some time working with the team
on how we expand KOJO services globally,
which is really interesting.
So we predominantly
deliver sporting events
in terms of fan experience.
So a lot of when you turn up to an event
and everything you see, feel
and hear is basically us
turning on the show for you as a fan.
- Wow.
- Which is very cool.
And yeah, I think we talked
about a little bit of like,
what skills and you think about strategy
and what does that look like.
It's kind of cool to be
on the other side now
and like what everything that you,
when you walk into an event
or you think about going
and we look at how do you
strategically curate that
for a person
and make sure those kind of
experiences are really seamless
and entertaining and essentially
giving you great value
for what you're doing
and spending your money.
But look, we're in the
business of entertaining people
and that's really fun and exciting
and it's really nice to also
be working in the industry
that I've spent kind of all my life in.
- Yeah. Yeah.
It's a real full circle-
Yeah.
- Type of moment.
- It is, it's very cool to be able
to have the privilege of
standing on the other side
of the fence and kind of
be delivering these shows
for what I was once, you
know, on the field for.
But yeah, very, very lucky
to work on some of the most,
you know, the major events
that go through Australia.
- Well, yeah, list some out.
What have you been doing?
- Look, I think my fav-
start with my favourite,
which was the ICCT 20
Women's World Cup in 2020,
which would've been the last
major event before COVID hit.
And obviously being such a big advocate
of women's sport, you know,
to have nearly 90,000 people at the MCG
to see Australia play it
and win the World Cup,
which you know, was a record
and just have like an incredible audience
that was so engaged and so
entertained and so happy.
For me, like I remember
sitting on the side
of the field just looking up
and going, I actually
wasn't sure I'd ever see
this in my lifetime.
- Wow. That's huge.
- And to see it
pretty, you know,
like I still hopefully got a
long way to go in my career
and to be able to see
that at this point gave me
so much hope and faith
in what we're doing.
And yeah.
And then not long, you
know, a couple years later
to work on the FIFA Women's World Cup
and I was at Suncorp
Stadium when the Matildas
had the, you know, famous
penalty shootout and-
- Incredible.
- Yeah, look, I can still
kind of remember every moment
of where I standing and
watching the people around me
and yeah, I think that's
what brings me so much joy is
to be able to see people
so engaged in something.
And if I take a like full circle back
to kind of where we started
of like, I've loved sport
because of the connection
and standing there that day
and that crowd watching
the dad with his son
There you know, so
engrossed in this game
and watching the media talk
about it for days to come.
For me, that is like the true
value of what sport brings.
And I think for me to be able
to work on work in this field
and have a job, which is I
feel so fortunate to be able
to bring these experiences to life.
Yeah, it's really amazing.
So yeah, World Cups, so go from,
really major events in World
Cups to, you know, AFL games
to, we're just about to
deliver the women's test
over at the WACA to, you know,
smaller things but not insignificant
and still really important.
All sorts of sports across the world,
which is very cool and yeah.
- Incredible.
- Lots of team members and
yeah, lots of people to manage,
but really great group of people that work
at the company and yeah, we
are looking at, you know,
how we continue to evolve things
and what's the future of sport
and being able to use those skills.
Like you asked me about
what I learned here
and I think one thing you
learn when you're studying
and be able to be exposed to things
like through great university
like Deakin around innovation
and what's out there.
I think that's super interesting.
Like the reality is
like we work in a world
that is so evolving and ever-changing
and sports completely on that trend
and the industry I work in
is like, you always have
to be looking at what's next
and how do we do something different?
How do we make sure your
experience day to day is always,
you know, more engaging.
Like fans always want more.
And so it's pretty cool to be
able to always look at like,
what are the things out
there that we can do
to make that better and more entertaining
and be really creative
at the end of the day
about what that looks like.
- Yeah, an amazing job you have.
- Very lucky.
- And talk to me a little bit
about Women Sport Australia.
- Yeah, so as you can tell,
I'm very passionate about women
and girls in sport. ( laughs)
- What?
- I've really got the agenda wrong
if you haven't got that by now.
So yeah, look for me,
I've joined this organisation
a couple years ago.
We're a volunteering board,
but we do a lot of great
work and the people
before me have done an
amazing job in establishing
this organisation as
the peak advocacy body
for women and girls in Australia.
And look, our mantra is
to bring gender equity
for women and girls in sport.
And look, there's a long way to go,
but what our pathway is,
is how can we be a really
great advocacy body?
How can we help connect people
who are doing amazing things
and how can we bring visibility
to light on what women
and girls and sport are doing?
So it's tricky as people who are on boards
or volunteer organisations know, it's hard
to fit it all in because
you've essentially got to do
a day job and then work
on what this looks like.
But look, we're got a
great group of people,
we've got a lot of people who support us.
It's always hard
because you've gotta find
funding to keep it going,
which is always a challenge.
But I think being able to
be, you know, in networks
and talk about these
things is really helpful.
And look, at the end of
the day, we just wanna try
and make things better so
that, you know, the little girl
who I once was, gets a
different opportunity.
I'm very grateful for the life
and journey that I've had,
but I think it could be very different.
And I think the reality is I
kind of, I'm very grateful,
but I will not be content
that I had that life.
If another girl goes through that,
they should have a different
outcome to how that looks,
both financially and from a perspective.
Because the reality is
at the end of the day,
a male equivalent to me is
in a far better position
financially than I am.
- Yep.
- And that's the reality.
And you know, my goal
and the reason why I spend
a lot of my time trying
to make this happen is
because that's not fair
and we kind of very directly need to say
that is there's no reason why a young boy
and a young girl should on
exactly the same journey
should end up at different
financial positions
at the end of it.
So that's really what drives me every day
is that, you know, I was very humbled
and blessed to have such a great journey,
but I wanna make sure that if
my daughter chooses to do that
or the girl down the
street decides to do that,
that they have a better
outcome at the end of it
and, you know, still have
the wonderful journey
that I did, but you know,
they're better set up
for the life ahead.
- Where are we at with all of that?
You're obviously doing work
with Women Sport Australia.
You've done the work as an athlete as well
to sort of set the example,
but where are we on that journey
and I don't know, how
far have we got to go?
- Unfortunately, pretty far to go,
but I think the good news
is that there definitely is progress.
I think if you look just on the weekend,
the WNBL played in their
grand finals to a sell out crowd.
Yeah, you know, on the front
page of The West, I think,
or the back page of The
West, I think, you know,
they're good outcomes, you
know, the Asian Women's Cup,
you know, record-breaking audiences.
So definitely there's progress,
but is the progress matched
with where we need to get to?
And that's probably where
we are falling short.
So I think definitely in
Australia, if you look globally,
I think that there's significant
progress in women's sport.
I think you see a lot of investment,
you see a lot of brands
getting behind women's sport.
And I think probably where I
feel in Australia especially,
we're falling behind
is we haven't seen that.
So we obviously saw the
Tillies do really well
at the FIFA Women's World Cup
and we got great traction
for the first time ever
probably in Australia.
But the reality was that was short-lived.
Like we didn't actually see
a massive flow on effect from that.
Like, we're still fighting
for a lot of things
that, you know, it is great
to have those moments,
but if the moments aren't sustained
and having, you know, meaningful impact,
then that moment somewhat
becomes insignificant, right?
- Yeah, and I guess
that's also the question.
Like, but you've got the
performative elements,
you've got almost like
a vibe element as well.
- Yeah.
- Versus like long term impact
on change that's in line
with where we wanna go.
Like how proportionate is
all of that at the moment?
- Yeah, look, I think
and you're exactly right
things, there are lots of things
that's going to impact long-term change
and I think things like the Tillies effect
is really helpful.
What we need is we need
those moments to become more
of a continued thing.
So we love the moments, they're great.
They help break the trends.
They help get cut through,
they help make people aware,
but the moments need to be
actual things that happen
as a consistent, that
should be normal for us.
It should be something we just expect.
Because that's what happens
in men's sport, you know,
that that's just normal.
We talk about the great performance,
but we wouldn't talk about the fact
that there were 40,000 people there.
So the narrative needs to change.
So we need to be talking
about the right things.
And that comes with good and bad things.
And that's how women's
sport needs to progress.
But we need that to be continuous
so that we can get brand
investment, media investment,
and we can get those
things that encourage long
and help long-term change.
We also need a national sports
strategy for women and girls.
So, you know, there's multiple
things that go into it.
I'm a firm believer
that we definitely need government support
and vision to help
change that systemically
because it starts from the roots,
but that's long term change
that needs to happen.
But we also need brands to get on board.
We need people to buy
sponsorships, we need people
to turn on the TV.
We need people to read the articles.
So there's so many
things that go into this
and people ask me all
the time, like, " Well,
I really like women's
sport, how do I help? "
And it's like, you can just
help by turning the TV on.
Like, you don't actually need to do a lot.
Like, we don't need to
go and change the world.
Like, we all would love to do that.
Like, I'd love to do that too,
but that's what I'm trying to do.
But all you have to do
is just buy a membership.
You support your team.
Just go buy a membership
to the women's team.
Go to a game.
Like, it's actually really small things
that we can take action
on to make this change
and actually influence
that long-term change.
And I think sometimes we think
about it, about it too large
and we go, " Oh, it's all this
stuff that needs to happen. "
But really we can all influence it
and it'll all help change
behaviours in our society.
And that will lead
to the bigger long-term
change that we're all after.
- Hmm. Yeah.
Good tips. Good lesson.
You are someone who's played elite sport.
You've studied at Deakin,
you built a global career
and you've found pride in your identity.
What do you hope
that young aspiring athletes
take away from your journey?
- I kind of hope
that just they believe
in anything's possible.
I think I was, you know,
the kid that, yeah,
I'll go back to the start and go.
I was the first generation Australian kid
with Sri Lankan parents.
Nobody probably ever would've thought
that I'd play basketball
at a pretty high level,
kick a footy in AFLW, deliver
world class sport events.
Like, you know, that's the great,
you know, thing about Australia.
And I think the opportunities are endless.
And for me, I hope people always see
that everything's possible.
I think I've spent my life
with that kind of belief
and that vision and, you
know, some of it I go, " Oh,
I was real naive and I
just kind of kept going. "
But you know, the other part
of me goes, 'that's okay.
Like, you know, I just had this vision
and I didn't let anybody
stop me from that'.
And I want younger people to see that.
And I just want them to
know that it doesn't matter
what they look like, who
they are, whatever they want
to do should be possible,
and it is possible.
And that's really what I just hope
for other people to see in me.
And I hope that they can
see through what I do
and from my journey and
what I'm currently doing
and strive to do is that
they can be inspired by that
and know that it is possible.
- Nice.
And some quick questions to wrap up with.
What's your favourite sport to watch?
-( laughs) Do you know,
basketball's like, my sport.
So that is the one,
but funnily enough, I
loved the Winter Olympics
and the downhill skiing is like-
- Right?
- Insane.
- Yeah.
- Is that just not the
most insane sport ever?
Like my god, my hat's
off to all those athletes
because holy moly.
That is wild.
So that was pretty cool.
So I'm looking forward to
watching the Paralympics.
- Yeah, you know, basketball
was your thing I guess
wouldn't be doing my job
if we didn't ask if you have
any thoughts on Space Jam.
Did you ever watch that film growing up?
- Yep.
- Did you watch the sequel?
- Definitely did.
- You know, like what?
- I definitely watched the original.
Sequel, I can't actually remember,
but anyway, Michael Jordan's
like the best, right?
So, like, of course.
Yeah, definitely loved it.
I actually wanna turn it on
and see what my kids think of it now.
- Yeah?
And are you gonna tell them like,
" Yeah, this is what it's like" ?-
Yeah. ( laughs)
- This documentary's good, Space Jam.
- Yeah. ( laughs)
- And what's next for you?
- Look, for me, it's
just how do I continue
to change the game for
women and girls in sport.
I just am so passionate about it
and I think for me, I've
really honed in on like,
how do I make impact.
And I think, yeah, I've got two kids
and it really changes your perspective.
And I feel like career wise,
like I am very fortunate
to be in a great position
and I'm always looking
for that next challenge
and I really want what I do
and where I spend my
time to be about impact
and how that, you know, purpose-led work
and thinking - that's really
what kind of gets me up every day
and know that I'm making
some change for other people
around me and for the
world my kids live in.
That's kind of, yeah,
that's really what drives me
and gets me outta bed
and how I keep connecting
with all these wonderful people out there
and bringing other people together.
So yeah, hopefully my story can yeah,
help others and I can kind
of continue on my journey
and see what else I can do out there.
- I think it'll definitely help others.
Well, Chantella Perera, thank you so much
for coming on" Stories of Wonder. "-
Thank you so much for having me.
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