Eddie McGuire returns to Collingwood for the first time since 2021.
Eddie McGuire has described his first trip to a Collingwood function since stepping down as president in 2021, when he was admitted as a life member of the club’s Past Players Association.
McGuire resigned as president of the Magpies in February 2021, following the release of the “Do Better” report, which accused Collingwood of promoting “systemic racism.” He had previously stated his desire to step down at the end of 2021.
McGuire had been in charge since 1998.
Despite being one of the most prominent figures in the club’s contemporary history, McGuire has maintained a distance from the team he adores.
The 58-year-old was clearly overwhelmed when he spoke on Channel 9’s Footy Classified after being handed life membership by the former players earlier in the night.
McGuire said receiving a No. 22 jersey for his 22 years as club president meant even more because it came from the players.
“It means everything to me,” he said.
“The players are everything in footy and the rest of us are just trying to keep the show going and that’s why I’m rapt to see the players getting paid.
“I was really emotional tonight because it means so much to me. Each one of those people at Collingwood — and every other club, I speak on behalf of every supporter — I didn’t worry about Batman and Superman, I used to go every weekend and see my heroes and occasionally get an autograph and a pat on the head, they were just everything.”
McGuire said it had actually been nearly four years since he had attended a function due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The No. 22 jersey had even more significance with Tony Shaw, who was one of the players who donned the famous number, “the reason I barrack for the Pies”, McGuire said.
He admitted he was welling up just talking about the honour.
McGuire, who received a life membership along with club champion Nathan Buckley in 2004, said the latest honor was unique because there was some time between his engagement in the club and the induction.
“The life membership I got at the time I was right in full battle mode, so it’s sometimes better to go away and have some distance from active service,” he went on to say.
“Tonight, to come back to the club where they’ve finished the last bit of development I was involved in — it looks a treat — to hand the baton over to (current president) Jeff Browne and his team and to (Collingwood coach) Craig McRae, and for them to take it to the next level, I’m just a supporter now and I’ve gone back to what it was like when I was a kid.”
McGuire had long been one of the game’s most powerful presidents before stepping down in 2021.
McGuire has had a busy year, as he was awarded a life membership in the AFL in February 2023.
McGuire’s contributions in the game extend beyond his time as Collingwood president, a position he held from 1998 until 2021, and include work as a journalist and then pundit.
His achievements at the Magpies aided the club’s development into an Australian sporting powerhouse.
