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Thirty Years Of Football Work
Herewith a summary of what I've done outside work hours since 1987, very much out of love
Football Writer 1991 - current (26 seasons)
Specialising in women's football, which I've followed since 1987 (30 seasons)
Published stories:
My stories regularly appeared in the following publications:
 Eastern Courier (1991)Soccer Express (1991-92)Central Leader (1992 - current; I'm the longest-serving contributor in the paper's history)Inside Soccer (1992)NZ Soccer Monthly (1992-94)NZ Herald (1993-2000 - occasional freelance work)Sunday Star-Times (1994-2000)Soccer (1994)Sitter! (1995-2005 - occasional contributions)Soccer Talk (2004-07)I have also contributed NZ women's football stories to the following publications:
Women's Soccer World (USA)On The Ball (UK)Die Zeit (Germany)The Wave (Oceania Football Confederation)My stories have also appeared on the following websites:
Weekly Soccer Observer (now defunct)Sportsweb Soccer - www.sportswebsoccer.com Website:
In 2001 I set up my own website, www.ultimatenzsoccer.com, which was established with the intention of being a one-stop shop for everything one could wish to know about football at senior level in New Zealand, with a particular emphasis on women's football.
Recognised by the NZ Football Media Association as its Website of the Year award winner in 2002, It has come to be regarded as the go-to site for all matters on the history of the game in this country, given it provides details of every international played by NZ representative teams at all levels, and the entire history of the Chatham Cup and the various leagues, national and regional, played throughout the country since 1965.
A section of the site, www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/Scoreboard, provides details of all current and upcoming matches taking place throughout the country, league results and standings, and my latest women's match reports and action photos from matches I've attended, as well as weekly round reviews.
Publications:
Over the last twenty-five years, I've compiled ten books on NZ football, four of which were award-winning publications. I've also provided contributions to a handful more tomes of similar nature. Those I've edited are:
 Eden AFC - Jubilee 1944-94Coxy - Coach Or Clown?, 1997Tribute to a Superteam - Three Kings United's Premier Women, 1998A Century in Soccer - Metro Football Club, 1899-1999Tribute to a Superteam - Three Kings United's Premier Women, 1999 Sport Auckland Sports Team of the YearNew Zealand Women's Soccer 2000 ReviewNew Zealand Women's Soccer 2002 Review"C'mon The Mount!" A fifty year history of Mt. Wellington AFC, New Zealand's most successful soccer club, 1952-2002New Zealand Women's Soccer 2003 ReviewStrength In Unity - Central United FC Golden Jubilee 1962-2012Those to which I've contributed include:
From The Farm to The Mountain - The history of the first 75 years of the Onehunga-Mangere Association Football Club, 1996Auckland Soccer Referees Centennial 1898-1998Stand Up If You Love The Kingz - An unofficial review of the Kingz inaugural season, 1999-2000New Zealand Soccer Annuals produced in 2003, 2004 and 2005Broadcasting:
Between March 1994 and August 1997, I provided a weekly contribution, covering both local and international football, to the Lifestyle Sports Soccer Hour, which was broadcast every Monday evening. I hosted the programme on a couple of occasions.
I have also provided score updates and reports on football matches in Auckland, at both National League and representative level, to Radio Sport on an 'as required' basis.
Media Liaison:
In October 1998, I was Media Liaison Officer for the Oceania qualifying series of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals. This entailed regularly liaising with members of the print, radio, television and photographic media both within and outside New Zealand, along with the compilation of tournament programmes and media kits, and ground announcing duties throughout the tournament.
I performed a similar role at both the 1997 and 2001 National Women's Soccer Tournaments, both of which were hosted by the Auckland Football Association.
On Football Kingz match nights, I fulfilled the duties of Match-Night Media Liaison, and have served New Zealand Football on numerous
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occasions in such a capacity, combining those duties with ground announcing work at North Harbour Stadium.
Programme Editor:
I have been involved in the production of club matchday programmes for the past twenty-five seasons, primarily as Editor. The clubs are:
 Eden, 1992-96Avondale United, 1993-95 Mt. Roskill, 1993-96Mt. Wellington, 1995-99Central United, 1996-currentLynn-Avon United, 1996-98Three Kings United, 1997-2010Football Kingz, 1999-2004University-Mt. Wellington, 2000-06East Auckland, 2003Auckland City FC, 2004-currentDuring the 1997-98 National Soccer League season, I was Editor of "Parklife", the official programme of Auckland's four National Soccer League clubs.
I have also been a regular contributor to the matchday programmes of feature matches in New Zealand Football's domestic and international calendar over time, and have been personally responsible for two such productions, specifically:
NZ Olympics 2000 Development Squad v. Australia U-23s, 30 June 1999NZ U-23s v. South Africa U-23s, 19 May 2000As well, on NZ Football's behalf, I compiled this country's contribution to the Kirin Cup programme between the U-23 teams of Japan and New Zealand, who met in Tokyo on 29 March 2000.
I have also produced a number of programmes for one-off club fixtures, such as Auckland Women's Knockout Finals, and for international tournaments, such as the Australian Secondary Schoolboys 1999 tour and the 1999 Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
I was responsible for the compilation and production of the programmes for both the 1997 and 2001 National Women's Soccer Tournaments in Auckland, the latter publication being the first programme in the event's twenty-six year history to feature player photos and profiles.
New Zealand Media Representation:
I have attended the following international football tournaments abroad, often as New Zealand's sole media representative:
International Tri-Series - Australia, China, New Zealand, in Australia, November 1997Pacific Cup - Australia, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, USA, in Australia, May-June 2000Australia Cup - Australia, China, DPR Korea, New Zealand, in Australia, February 2004Football Ferns' tour of Japan, May 2005OFC U-20 Women's Championship, Samoa 2006Football Ferns' tour of Australia, February 2007FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, China 2007Football Ferns & OlyWhites' Australian tour, July 2008Olympic Men's & Women's Football Tournaments, China 2008FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, Germany 2011FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, Canada 2015Since 2015 I've been the NZ media representative entrusted with the country's media votes for the annual FIFA Women's Player and Coach of the Year awards.
I have been a member of the NZ Football Media Association since 1991, and an Executive Member of same since 2002.
I am the only member of NZ's football media to have compiled a full report on all 425 matches played by New Zealand clubs in the Hyundai A-League since the first one took place on 1 October 1999 through to the end of the 2015-16 season.
Using the information on my website, I compiled the information relating to New Zealand's "A" international appearances for both senior men's and women's teams, as required of NZ Football by FIFA's 'Big Count' survey a decade ago.
Football Awards:
I have received the following awards and finalist listings for my football work over the years:
1996 - NZFMA Publication of the Year, Eden Golden Jubilee book1999 - NZFMA Publication of the Year, Metro Centenary book2000 - NZFMA Publication of the Year, Three Kings United's Premier Women's team yearbook2000 - Final nominee, NZ Soccer Service to the Game award2000 - Final nominee, Jim McMullan Trophy2000 - Final nominee, NZ Soccer Media Person of the Year2000 - Auckland Women's Football Association special award for Services to Women's Football2002 - NZ Soccer Media Person of the Year2002 - NZFMA Website of the Year, www.ultimatenzsoccer.com2002 - NZFMA "Straight Shooter" award for the NZFMA Member of the Year2008 - Auckland Football Federation Long Service Medal - inaugural recipient2012 - NZFMA Publication of the Year, Central United Golden Jubilee book2013 - NZFMA Regional / Community Writer of the Year |