Melissa Andreatta, the head coach of Scotland's women's national football team and former assistant coach of the Matildas, has been named a 2026 QUT Outstanding Sports Alumnus.
The honour was announced at the annual QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards last night (October 29) at the university's Gardens Point campus in Brisbane.
Ms Andreatta studied a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) at QUT between 1997 and 2000, then channelled her energy into a career that has spanned teaching, elite sport and international coaching.
"It means a lot to me to be recognised in this way by QUT, but it was a big surprise and I'm humbled by it,” she said.
After graduating from QUT, Ms Andreatta taught at Brisbane high schools full-time and then part-time as her coaching career developed.
Now one of Australia’s most influential figures in women’s soccer, she led the Brisbane Roar to the 2018 A-League Women premiership, earning her coach of the year honours.
As lead assistant coach of the national Matildas squad, she played a key role in major international campaigns including the Tokyo Olympics and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
After 11 years with Football Australia, she is now leading Scotland's women's national team as it seeks qualification for future international tournaments.
Ms Andreatta said her time at QUT helped lay the foundations for a career built around teaching, coaching and leadership.
She said she had been drawn to the university by its history and reputation of developing good teachers.
“I have to acknowledge the important part that QUT played and the role that four-year degree had in my early career as a PE teacher and then as a coach,” she said.
“It was a great four years.
"My teaching background has significantly influenced my current coaching practice and the leader that I want to be.
"For me, that (teaching ethos) is the same in elite football. It's a player-centred approach and creating what's best for the player and for them to perform and thrive.
"What I learned most in my time teaching and in the early days of my teaching course at QUT was a bit of this sixth sense – reading body language, understanding people and meeting them where they're at.”
Ms Andreatta said she would encourage today’s students to pursue work that genuinely inspired them.
"The advice I'd like to give current students who are about to enter the workforce is to find and chase what you're really passionate about," she said.
"Don't do what you think your parents want you to do or the family expects you to do.
"Find what you love and go hard at it because once you have that passion there's no limit to what you can do or what you're willing to do to make a difference through that career.
"Humans want to make a difference and contribute to making things better and you've got to be passionate about what you're doing to enable it, so find it and go for it."
Media contact: QUT Media, media@qut.edu.au
