As New Zealand Football ramps up preparations for the FIFA World Cup™ 2026, OFC has supported the All Whites campaign with the secondment of OFC High Performance Consultant Dave Wright for the past three international camps to both assist and learn from the programme.
With a view to supporting other OFC Member Associations (MAs) in the region to prepare for a FIFA World Cup™, Wright was seconded into the All Whites environment in a Technical Support role travelling to Australia, Europe, and the USA.
OFC High Performance Consultant Dave Wright said:
“The chance to integrate and support the All Whites technical team and wider staff has been a great learning opportunity. The knowledge I’ve gained on how the All Whites campaign plan is being brought to life and how the staff are preparing the team for the tournament has been incredibly valuable.
“I’m looking forward to sharing insights with member associations in the region as they continue to develop their National Academy and National Teams programmes.”
Throughout the secondment, Wright – an OFC Pro Licensed coach – supported in a variety of roles on and off pitch, including supporting training sessions, match preparation and the consistent review of systems linked to the All Whites internal learning processes.
All Whites Assistant Coach Tony Readings said:
“It has been really valuable to have Dave join the programme over the past few months to both support and contribute to our preparations, as well as have oversight on what we have been doing to hopefully assist other OFC nations.
“Continuing to develop the game in Oceania is really important, so when opportunities like this are available, we are really keen to share knowledge as well as learn ourselves.
“Thanks to Dave for all his work over the past few months and we look forward to continue to work closely with OFC going forward.”
Through this collaboration, New Zealand Football has continued to make clear its desire to enhance competitiveness in the region.
In addition to Wright’s secondment, the All Whites welcomed New Caledonia Head Coach, Johan Sidaner into camp for the September match against Australia in Auckland, and supported with a recent study visit of Tahitian coaches to New Zealand.
Wright believes this kind of knowledge sharing and collaboration should set a precedent in the region:
“If we are to continue progressing football in Oceania and aiming to have two teams representing our confederation at Men’s and Women’s FIFA World Cups™, then we need to continue to share knowledge and experience to ensure our region can compete on the world stage.”
Photo Credit: NZF Media