Marshall has been named as assistant academy manager at Championship club Portmsouth and will help to recruit 14 to 19-year-olds, as well as coach the club’s U-19 side.
He will work under director of youth operations Paul Smalley, who worked for New Zealand Football as director of football from 2002 to 2005. Marshall is currently in charge of Three Kings, who play in the Northern Premier League, and previously helped coach Auckland City to the third of their NZFC titles in 2006-07.
He also coached Central United to the 2001 National League title and last year took Three Kings, then a division one side, to the Chatham Cup final.
He beat off competition from a large number of applicants to land the job and is delighted to be heading to England.
“I feel very fortunate,” he told the Herald on Sunday newspaper.
“For a long time now, I have wanted to work in the game full-time. It’s a tricky thing in New Zealand. You spend a lot of time getting qualified and coach senior men’s teams but they are only part-time jobs.
“You can’t live on what you get paid so you have to do something else and for the last few years I have been coaching, then heading overseas contracting [in sales and marketing jobs].
“This is a marvellous opportunity. It’s a really good role and there were a lot of people who applied for it. That’s why I feel very fortunate. Any jobs in the UK or worldwide, especially where football is the No 1 sport, are like hen’s teeth.”
New Zealand Football chief executive Michael Glading says Marshall’s appointment at Portsmouth is great news.
“It’s the same pleasure we have when a player goes to a higher professional environment. But we don’t want to export people and never see them again so hopefully he will return one day to work here,” Glading says.
Marshall thinks he will be busy in his new role but is looking forward to the challenge.
“I just hope it’s everything I expect and I’m everything they want because it’s a great opportunity.
“I don’t know how long I will be away for. It could be a few years or ten years, but in the long-term I would like to come back to New Zealand to offload my learnings so our players are benefiting.”