As part of its GET IN to Football campaign, New Zealand Football is urging more Kiwis to take up the beautiful game. In the first of a series of interviews with people already involved in football, we chatted with New Zealand Football Women's Development Manager Holly Nixon about how she got into the game and what she enjoys about it.

Photo: Holly Nixon, far left, at the launch of the Kate Sheppard Cup (Photosport)

How did you get into football?

I got into football at a very young age, my dad played football so I got dragged around football grounds when I was a new born. I was lucky enough to have grown up playing football and playing sport has helped to shape me into the person I am today. Resilience, work ethic, leadership and team work are all vital skills that I learned while playing football and they have all helped me in the work I now do behind the scenes of the game.

What do you enjoy about being involved in football?

Football is now my job, I get to wake every morning and go to work with something I am so passionate about. I consider myself very lucky. The biggest enjoyment I get from being involved in football is seeing the hope of young girls on a pitch or a court and them kicking a ball around for the first time. The joy on their faces is the best part of football, they just have so much fun!

What is your current role in football and what does it entail?

My current role in football is as New Zealand Football's Women’s Development Manager. It entails getting more girls and women playing and loving both football and futsal.

What are you excited about in your role this year and why?

Everything we do in the girls and women’s game is exciting because we are constantly challenging to make it better. The exciting things we have coming up this year are:

Girls and Women’s Week was a great way to kick off the year as we provide an opportunity for nearly 10,000 girls from all over the country to give football/futsal a go.

The winter football season is a favourite time of the year and especially this year because we have re-branded the Women’s Knockout Cup to the Kate Sheppard Cup. Having such an inspirational role model to lead this national competition is very special and will hopefully inspire women to get in and give it a go.

Coaches and administrators are a vital part of developing the women’s game and this year we have changed it up. Rather than having just one administration conference, we are having seven – one in each federation – so we can get more people involved and helping us achieve our goals. This year we are also introducing a female coach scholarship programme – we aim to help more women develop as coaches because diversity is important in developing the game.

Our National Women’s League is extending to two rounds this year. This is exciting because it is a great step forward for the women’s game. We have also had the Futsal National Women’s League take place earlier this year, that was a lot of fun and it is great to see the development of the women’s game getting better year after year.

We also have an exciting year ahead for our Football Ferns and national age-group teams. The Ferns will be in action this year preparing for their FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November. The U-17 and U-20 national teams have their World Cups this year and the U-18 Futsal Ferns have qualified for the Youth Olympic Games, which are taking place in October in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Why do you think someone should get involved in football?

Football is fun! A sport like football is good for you, both mentally and physically. It is also amazing how a sport can provide people with so many opportunities.