The Delivery and Sustainability Project commissioned by New Zealand Football in May 2020 has concluded with the first proposal, covering national and regional league competition structures for the 2021/22 season and beyond, now being presented to key stakeholders for feedback.

The project engaged with representatives from across football in Aotearoa New Zealand, including from federations, clubs, related organisations and communities (FIFA, Aotearoa Football, Wellington Phoenix etc), to identify and address some of the challenges long faced by the game, many of which have been exacerbated by COVID-19. 

Guided by a steering group of stakeholders in the game, the project identified four key challenges:

1. How to better integrate and align competition structures across the country?
2. How to improve our operating model?
3. How to grow and embed a rich, vibrant culture of diversity and inclusion?
4. How to strengthen, develop, support and expand the wider football ecosystem?

Each challenge had a designated challenge group made up of experts inside and outside of football who identified guiding principles and a working creative brief. For the integration and alignment of competition structures, the guiding principles were:
 

• The competitions and participating entities must be financially viable and sustainable
• The competitions and participating entities must embrace youth development through an aligned system
• The competitions must be an open competition to create an aspirational pathway
• The highest level of competitions must provide players with circa 30 matches per season in one training and playing environment

Over a 12-week period, each challenge group formulated a number of initiatives to be presented back to New Zealand Football, the New Zealand Football board and relevant stakeholders. The first, the National League System Proposal, has been circulated to voting members and individual men’s national league clubs for feedback today. 

New Zealand Football President Johanna Wood said:

“I want to thank all of the people from across the game who have contributed to this project.

“This has been a complex and sometimes challenging process but we know if we want to safeguard the future of the game, and ensure we have solid foundations to build from in the coming years, it is a hugely important piece of work.”

Feedback on the National League System Proposal is due to be received by Friday 20 November. New Zealand Football will publish the outcome and further information on the project by the end of the month.

Article added: Friday 06 November 2020