AUCKLAND – A lawyer, a historian, two former All Whites, a double rugby and netball international and an Olympic gold medal winning Rhodes Scholar have begun the process of reviewing the structure of football competitions in New Zealand.
The seven person panel – headed by Auckland barrister Simon Jefferson – is entrusted with gathering information and opinion from all levels of the sport and making recommendations back to New Zealand Football’s board by the end of 2009.
New Zealand Football CEO Michael Glading and football historian Barry Smith will be joined on the panel by former New Zealand internationals Barry Pickering and Sean Douglas, while former MP, Black Fern and Silver Fern Louisa Wall and Rhodes Scholar Selwyn Maister – a member of the 1976 gold medal winning New Zealand hockey team – will add cross-code input and expertise.
The shape, purpose, integration and sustainability of national and regional competitions from the 2010 season onwards would all be under review.
Submissions will be called for, both electronically and in person, and New Zealand Football was hopeful of enlisting the support of Sport and Recreation New Zealand in the process.
Glading was confident New Zealand Football had found the right mix of people to survey the game.
“We’ve got some talented people involved from a wide range of backgrounds,” Glading said.
“That will stand us in good stead as we talk to the game over the next few months, analyse all the information and come up with a sustainable plan for domestic football.”
Story courtesy of NZ Football
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