New Zealand Football, with support from the NZ Football Foundation, has announced a series of initiatives to celebrate the history of the game in Aotearoa and the players who forged it. 

Funded by the NZ Football Foundation, New Zealand Football will be releasing a series of stories on historic games for our national sides written by football journalist Michael Burgess. The stories, released in a mix of written and video form, will celebrate some of the iconic moments in the history of the game on the international stage. 

The first, looking at the All Whites taking on China in 1982 with FIFA World Cup qualification on the line, is now available on our website.

In addition to this, a database of all former players is being compiled, with the assistance of football historian Jeremy Ruane, to enable New Zealand Football to better engage with and celebrate everyone who laid the foundations of football in this country. 

Finally, a history of the Football Ferns written by Jeremy Ruane, and a history of the All Whites written by Michael Burgess, is now available on our website. 

Andrew Pragnell, CEO of New Zealand Football said:

“We thank the NZ Football Foundation for their support in funding this initiative. Celebrating the history of the game and the generations of players to have worn the Fern is really important. I look forward to seeing this work come to fruition.”

Article added: Friday 20 August 2021