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NZSMA
This section of the website is dedicated to the memory of Vic Deverill, the NZSMA Secretary - Treasurer from 1981-99,
who passed away within a week of the Association’s Annual Awards Dinner in 2000, and to Trevor Rowse, the NZSMA's
longest-serving Chairman, who died in 2013. His obituary can be read HERE. R.I.P.
How It All Began
by Trevor Rowse
Extracted from ‘Outside The Area’, a collection of soccer stories from 1970 to 1995 to mark the 25th anniversary
of the founding of the New Zealand Soccer Media Association
Soccer is harder to promote outside the areas of the game’s natural influence. Europe and South America have embraced ‘football’ with fervour while the rest of the world is trying to catch up.
If you live in the Faroe Islands, Cyprus or Northern Ireland, you can see your country, or your local champions, in action against the giant sides of Europe in various levels of cup play. In Asia, North America and Africa, the game took longer to be the passion of the people, and, as in New Zealand, may never make it to the heights. In the Pacific, it is even harder with the isolation from regular competition, in countries where ball-handling games are the preference.
The passion here is most often part-time, in playing, administration and even in the media. There are no big bucks backing the game but the enthusiasm of those around soccer is no less, just less obvious.
In 1970, a small band of media people met in the St. George Hotel in Wellington, on the eve of the 1970 Chatham Cup final between Auckland’s Blockhouse Bay and Western Suburbs of Wellington. After the excitement of the first year of the National League, those "fans" formed the Soccer Writers’ Association and it has existed through the years, mostly driven by a
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single person each year and emerging with an annual awards’ dinner.
There have been up to 84 members in the association, which changed to Soccer Media in recognition of those who were broadcasters on radio and television. Through the backing of Winfield, then Smokefree, the Association has kept alive, and the awards have been recognised by the players as something to achieve. Other sponsors have picked up some of the extra awards which have been introduced over the years.
The most controversial has been the Personality Award, which has gone into various forms as those who were to vote on it tried to define personality, an elusive thing in our soccer. Women’s awards have been introduced, recognising a "new" and important part of the game.
There have been some notable publications and it is significant that the Association thrived when weeklies and monthlies such as regional programmes, Soccer News (under various editors), Soccer Express (the same), Soccer Monthly and Inside Soccer (both versions) were being published.
Notable books of the era include Terry Maddaford’s attractive and informative "The First 100 Years of Auckland Soccer", which set the standard of quality presentation.
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Tony Hilton’s "An Association With Soccer" was the NZFA’s official centenary book and it covered the statistics as only Barry Smith can. He is truly soccer’s man of facts.
Barry’s New Zealand Soccer Annual was a treat for the true fans, and for all serious writers wanting to get their facts right. Vic Deverill took over later and the demise of this annual was a blow to everyone in the game and an example of personalities affecting our game.
Vic set the scene for serious literary effort in 1980 with his volume "Rothmans Soccer League Ten Year History", which still reads well. Rothmans certainly did a great job in promoting soccer and the name was synonymous with the game.
There have been many other books and publications about various aspects of the game in New Zealand, many of which have been forgotten by most.
There are also many soccer writers beavering away each week in the winter, and, in recent years, the summer too, to put out their club magazines or programmes. They know the feeling of frustration and the pleasure of seeing the publication.
Together, they make up the New Zealand Soccer Media Association.
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