Kewell was one of eight inductees at the 34th Sport Australia Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards Gala Dinner at the Palladium at Crown in Melbourne on Thursday evening.

At Australia’s most prestigious sporting awards ceremony with the largest collective gathering of Australian sporting greats and luminaries, former Socceroos World Cup coach Rale Rasic accepted the award in Kewell's absence.

Kewell was unable to attend given his managerial duties with English League Two club Notts County.

"Harry was one of the great talents of all sports in Australia," Rasic said.

"He was the youngest to debut to Australia, it was an amazing rise."

Kewell played 56 times for Australia, scoring 17 goals, including one of the most famous in Socceroos history when he equalised against Croatia at the 2006 World Cup sending the team into the knockout phase for the first time ever.

The now 40-year-old played at two World Cups, won the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup at Liverpool and was a three-time Oceania Footballer of the Year winner.