Priestman, a former women’s development manager for New Zealand Football, arrived in the country five years ago to take up the role of NZF regional coach development coordinator (RCDC) based in Wellington, before taking a similar role in Auckland.
The former Everton FC employee stepped into New Zealand’s top football development role in 2011, before being awarded the position on a full-time basis in 2012, and is proud of the way the flagship development blueprint – the Whole of Football Plan – has taken root in clubs and federations in that time.
“When I joined New Zealand Football there was two or three football development staff in head office and now that’s up to eight, and the big difference is now we have an aligned workforce across the country to deliver the plan whereas prior to that we had seven federations doing seven different things,” Priestman notes.
“So having the federations facing the same direction and to see the results, particularly from the last two years, shows that it’s a different landscape now and something the whole football community can be proud of.”
Priestman acknowledges her appointment to the senior development role might have raised eyebrows initially but she believes genuine opportunities for women in the game are only going to increase given the strategic importance NZF is placing on the women’s game.
“What we’ve seen in the last year, and even in the last six months, is that there is a massive swell in the number of female coaches and that’s because the national body is saying ‘we’re willing to invest’, and those opportunities are appearing for qualified and experienced female coaches.
“The appointment of Jitka Klimkova to the U-17s head coach role is a strong statement of that commitment and convinced the doubters that New Zealand Football is serious.”
Priestman leaves to take up a dual role with the Canadian Soccer Association as Women’s Excel Program (U-14/U-17) director and head coach of the U-17 women’s team.
While sad to leave the country she has called home for five years, Priestman says the lure of working in a country gearing up to host a Women’s World Cup, and where the number of females playing football trails only Germany and the USA, was too good to turn down.
New Zealand Football chief executive Grant McKavanagh paid tribute to the departing Priestman.
“Bev did fantastically well in stepping up to a big role at a critical stage in the life of the Whole of Football plan, making sure the programme and the many new initiatives were embedded within clubs to the point where they are well on the way to becoming part of the football DNA in this country.
“The biggest complement to Bev, the work of her team and the army of development staff around the country is that the base components of the plan now live and breath at grassroots no matter who steps in to take over from her.”
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
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