Growing up in Echuca, Essendon Football Club chief executive officer Xavier Campbell has always had a crystal clear understanding of just how important Australian Rules football is to a country community.
If he had momentarily forgotten an emphatic reminder was provided by passionate Bombers fans at Moama’s Border Inn on Friday night when he, and a swag of Essendon Football Club legends of the past, appeared at the Murray River town’s favourite watering hole, as part of the Essendon Country Tour schedule.
Essendon fans, more than most, have endured an extremely difficult past two decades.
Not only has it been 18 seasons since the Bombers last won a finals match (in September 2004, when they survived a late Demons fightback to secure a five-point elimination final victory), but the club also endured the ASADA drugs scandal.
Campbell, the 42-year-old former St Joseph’s College student, arrived in the CEO role in 2014 — immediately after the club had most of its senior playing personnel banned for a six-month period, was fined $1 million, and had its Brownlow medallist (Jobe Watson) stripped of his title.
Campbell is still very connected to Echuca, where he visits his parents Ian and Jeanine every couple of months with his children Freddie, 8, and Francesca, 5.
One of his closest friends is Echuca businessman Luke Teasedale and Campbell is a regular at Echuca football matches — he has already seen two games this year (including the weekend’s game against Mansfield).
Campbell had been the Bombers’ chief operating officer and general manager projects and partnerships before the CEO appointment.
Prior to joining Essendon he worked for global sports marketing company Octagon and also for the South Australian Government as an economic analyst.
While he played with Echuca in the Goulburn Valley league, his on-field highlight was a SANFL premiership with Sturt Football Club.