The All Whites have landed another warm-up fixture ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
It's been confirmed today they'll face Haiti on June 3rd in Fort Lauderdale ahead of their already scheduled game against England in Tampa four days later.
New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell joined D'Arcy to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildegrave
from News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Sports Talk on News Talk ZB All Whites Final World
Cup warm up fixed has been confirmed today. This hits
to take on Hates at Fort Lauderdale and Flora on
June third, matches, four days before they take on England
and fifteen days out from their tournament opener. Insaid Football
have also been awarded a couple of prizes at the
(00:33):
Diversity Awards. They are given the Cultural Combency Award and
the Overarching Supreme Award. And you said on Football CEO
Andrew Pregnell joins us now to discuss good evening.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Andrew, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And thanks very much for joining us. A couple of
things on my mind around at football. We'll talk about
the success and the Diversity Awards surely, but first up,
you guys have managed to get yourself another warm up game.
The hits keep coming, do they not? Hate is the
next target on the checklist?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Four days before the English game? Do you think that's
got enough warm ups now? And pre game fixtures.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I think we've landed it. I think things have come
to you that nicely.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Obviously, We've got both ends of the spectrum, if you like,
with in England and a Haiti both very good teams obviously,
both World Cup qualified, and what's key for us actually
is that they're both in Florida, so you know we're
managing movement for the team. They're coming from thirty to
forteen different countries is always key. So but yeah, we
wrapped the Haitian team will be very strong. Obviously England
(01:34):
is without a doubt strong and to have those two
fixtures locked in now, I think it's what we're after,
what we needed, and I don't think we'll see anymore.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So West Coast the East coast. You're going to be
based on the West coast, haven't you?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
This west?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
This East coast trek is okay for you to go Florida.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Yeah, absolutely, So the team will be assembling. Actually there'll
be potentially many groups, but there's quite it's quite a
long time in camp from a assembly of circa twenty
five May through the first actual World Cup game being
on the fifteenth of June. So actually a little bit
of a movement, and it's always a balance. We don't
want to be flying the team back forth in every
state in the US, but you know, spending a week
(02:14):
and doing a week's camp in Florida without constant movement,
and then moving them back to from that East coast
back to the West coast in San Diego.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
We think it's the perfect perfect running.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Why hater, what do they bring to the party? They're
ranked very similarly up the kind of seventy eighty odds,
so much the same, But I don't know what their
style about what they bring to the deck. So why then,
how did you come to that conclusion?
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Yeah, look, I think some of it is availability and location,
but ultimately they play a very dynamic, open style of football.
We think they're fas sticking out of the right level
of leagues and they obviously qualified through the North American
conquer CAF region quite successfully.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
And I think also, you know, we expect.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
England to England to throw quite a bit at US,
as you'd expect from the fourth ranked team in the
world at also they're going to be great. It's also
another fixture I think that's certainly winnable for the team
to build confidence going in.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
You've also got a lot of games even before you
get over to the World Cup too. That's I was
referencing before. So you can never be be accused of
lack of preparation, now, can you.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I think this will be the greatest kind of run
in for the All Whites to any World Cup. Obviously,
played consistently since COVID, every every single international window, we've
had some phenomenal opposition, you know, the Colombias and Ecuadors
of the world. We've played teams from every single confederation,
I think, mixing up that playing style. We've had Europeans,
(03:50):
South Americans, we've had them all teams out of Asia.
So yeah, the preparation from our opposition perspective has been
brilliant and we've show and we can perform too.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
So yeah, a lot of excitement building around the team
and the.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Team will be built. When is this being announced? Your
touring side, your World Cup squad is going to be
released to the hounds sooner rather than later, isn't it? Andrew?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Are we be looking here?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It is?
Speaker 4 (04:13):
It is a date came out today, I believe, or
if not, I'm lining it out now. So we're looking
at the fourteenth of May was the day that's been
ear marks. So yeah, pretty exciting, not was this a
week a bit over a week today?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah? Wow, I mean these players are going to have
a rough idea. Are they not a fair in or out?
How does that process unfold? Do you have any control
over there? Did you oversee how that was released?
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Yep, a little bit of a line of sight. Obviously,
Darren's got a lot of phone calls to make. It's
a big score. We've got so many professionals now he's
actively managing or monitoring rather over fifty professionals every single
week around the world. And yeah, lock, I think the
players who have played a lot or played featured. I've
(05:00):
seen a lot of people picking their own squads already,
and you know it's probably maybe the first fifteen or
sixteen are out to the easy and thereafter. But yeah,
a lot of fine calls we made, and I'm sure
I have their opinions as well as you'd expect.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
That's part of sport.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Let's move on to some gongs. Last night, New Zealand
Football have come up with I didn't see this coming.
I don't know if anyone did. This awards group. It's
the Diversity Awards and this is one hundred and thirty entries.
We're talking people like Air New Zealand and what have
you got Fonterra Holida Bank. So I mean we're talking serious,
(05:36):
big organizations and you have won the Tiara Mari Tohu
Cultural Competence Award. What does that mean to New Zealand Football?
What does it mean to you guys there that you've
actually received such a gong.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yeah, I mean we were wrapped. Not only did we
were we awarded that, but at the end of the night,
as we're obviously incredibly proud of that, and I'll talk
to that in a second, but at the end of
the night, when they considered it all all the applications
across all of the categories, every corporate, every Onterira to
say and Bank in New Zealand, who entday, he actually
just determined he's on football one.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Supreme award.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
You stole my fund. I was building up to that.
After that, I was going to say, and of course,
but that's okay, you're the CEO, You're allowed to. But
supreme award. That says so much about what you're doing
around inclusion and diversity. What was the drive here? Where
where did this come from? Why did you have to
get into the space.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, well, first of all, I think we've got a
long way to go, and what I acknowledge there's a
lot of people involved in this. It's not just board
and staff. It's a lot of stakeholders. It's Marti football
as well, our partner organization. But ultimately, you know, we've
set the goal of being the most inclusive sport in
the country. We don't think that we you know, we've
(06:55):
got growing Marti representation across referees, coaches, administrators and players,
but we need to grow up more. So we've been
putting a lot of effort in the space with a
lot of help from a lot of different people, and
Mali football have been fantastic is that you know, people
in the game who've been stoughts for a long time,
(07:16):
people like Arion Nata and others who have been flying
the flag. I think, but the national body sort of
realized we need to put a bit moreford in. We've
done a lot of things around both our strategy and
our targets specific for MARDI, but we've built done a
lot of education within the system, so trying to build
capability around language, around te kung and how we engage
with the EWE. We're bringing international teams in and out
(07:38):
of New Zealand all the time, and you know those teams.
Not only do we our national teams build strength from
a lot of Marty Tea Kung in the way that
some of our great teams like the All Blacks they.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Have done before, but also we're playing on.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Their funeral and actually building relations with EWE and then
again investing into Marli football as well are doing great
Mahi delivering football up and down the country themselves. So
it's basically about geting more people involved in the game
and people be involved and love the game.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
So yeah, and we're seeing growth from it.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
So we've got lots and lots of work to do still,
So don't get me wrong, but I think if it's
it's great see the if it's recognized that we're facing
in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Sixty thousand new female footballers after by twenty thirty five
fourteen New Mighty football twenty two thousand new players of
pussyfiker and Asian backgrounds, or they are the growth areas,
So that makes perfect sense. One last thing, Andrew, congratulations
on that. How did that stick when you first turned
up with what you were trying to do, Because there
are some workplaces that have some resistance to this. Was
(08:43):
there good traction amongst your staff and your shareholders?
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Absolutely, I think we're seeing, you know, the tired turn
in a really good way here around everything. I mean,
football is especially football. The one thing it's the global game,
is the game. If any sport should be the most
inclusive sport, it should be football. From my perspective of
it's a simple game. It's a game that anyone can play,
(09:09):
so I think, and it's it's pitched itself that around
the world for a very very long time. So you know,
across our members staff, absolutely, people have jumped right in
and I think we've you know, got a real chance
here to develop.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Key we football and a way we want to develop
it too.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
You know, it hasn't always been that way, and so
it's a proud moment I think for the game as
a whole. And there's a lot of clubs and a
lot of people are doing great work in the space.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So yeah, just really proud of the whole system.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Actually, massive week for you guys. Andrew Pregnell, Chief executive
of in New Zealand Football, as always, thanks very much
for your time and congratulations to you and all of
your staff.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Thanks so much, Darsie go well.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildegrave
from News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Sports Talk on News Talk ZB All Whites Final World
Cup warm up fixed has been confirmed today. This hits
to take on Hates at Fort Lauderdale and Flora on
June third, matches, four days before they take on England
and fifteen days out from their tournament opener. Insaid Football
have also been awarded a couple of prizes at the
(00:33):
Diversity Awards. They are given the Cultural Combency Award and
the Overarching Supreme Award. And you said on Football CEO
Andrew Pregnell joins us now to discuss good evening.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Andrew, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And thanks very much for joining us. A couple of
things on my mind around at football. We'll talk about
the success and the Diversity Awards surely, but first up,
you guys have managed to get yourself another warm up game.
The hits keep coming, do they not? Hate is the
next target on the checklist?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Four days before the English game? Do you think that's
got enough warm ups now? And pre game fixtures.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I think we've landed it. I think things have come
to you that nicely.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Obviously, We've got both ends of the spectrum, if you like,
with in England and a Haiti both very good teams obviously,
both World Cup qualified, and what's key for us actually
is that they're both in Florida, so you know we're
managing movement for the team. They're coming from thirty to
forteen different countries is always key. So but yeah, we
wrapped the Haitian team will be very strong. Obviously England
(01:34):
is without a doubt strong and to have those two
fixtures locked in now, I think it's what we're after,
what we needed, and I don't think we'll see anymore.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So West Coast the East coast. You're going to be
based on the West coast, haven't you?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
This west?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
This East coast trek is okay for you to go Florida.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Yeah, absolutely, So the team will be assembling. Actually there'll
be potentially many groups, but there's quite it's quite a
long time in camp from a assembly of circa twenty
five May through the first actual World Cup game being
on the fifteenth of June. So actually a little bit
of a movement, and it's always a balance. We don't
want to be flying the team back forth in every
state in the US, but you know, spending a week
(02:14):
and doing a week's camp in Florida without constant movement,
and then moving them back to from that East coast
back to the West coast in San Diego.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
We think it's the perfect perfect running.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Why hater, what do they bring to the party? They're
ranked very similarly up the kind of seventy eighty odds,
so much the same, But I don't know what their
style about what they bring to the deck. So why then,
how did you come to that conclusion?
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Yeah, look, I think some of it is availability and location,
but ultimately they play a very dynamic, open style of football.
We think they're fas sticking out of the right level
of leagues and they obviously qualified through the North American
conquer CAF region quite successfully.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
And I think also, you know, we expect.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
England to England to throw quite a bit at US,
as you'd expect from the fourth ranked team in the
world at also they're going to be great. It's also
another fixture I think that's certainly winnable for the team
to build confidence going in.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
You've also got a lot of games even before you
get over to the World Cup too. That's I was
referencing before. So you can never be be accused of
lack of preparation, now, can you.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I think this will be the greatest kind of run
in for the All Whites to any World Cup. Obviously,
played consistently since COVID, every every single international window, we've
had some phenomenal opposition, you know, the Colombias and Ecuadors
of the world. We've played teams from every single confederation,
I think, mixing up that playing style. We've had Europeans,
(03:50):
South Americans, we've had them all teams out of Asia.
So yeah, the preparation from our opposition perspective has been
brilliant and we've show and we can perform too.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
So yeah, a lot of excitement building around the team
and the.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Team will be built. When is this being announced? Your
touring side, your World Cup squad is going to be
released to the hounds sooner rather than later, isn't it? Andrew?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Are we be looking here?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It is?
Speaker 4 (04:13):
It is a date came out today, I believe, or
if not, I'm lining it out now. So we're looking
at the fourteenth of May was the day that's been
ear marks. So yeah, pretty exciting, not was this a
week a bit over a week today?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah? Wow, I mean these players are going to have
a rough idea. Are they not a fair in or out?
How does that process unfold? Do you have any control
over there? Did you oversee how that was released?
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Yep, a little bit of a line of sight. Obviously,
Darren's got a lot of phone calls to make. It's
a big score. We've got so many professionals now he's
actively managing or monitoring rather over fifty professionals every single
week around the world. And yeah, lock, I think the
players who have played a lot or played featured. I've
(05:00):
seen a lot of people picking their own squads already,
and you know it's probably maybe the first fifteen or
sixteen are out to the easy and thereafter. But yeah,
a lot of fine calls we made, and I'm sure
I have their opinions as well as you'd expect.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
That's part of sport.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Let's move on to some gongs. Last night, New Zealand
Football have come up with I didn't see this coming.
I don't know if anyone did. This awards group. It's
the Diversity Awards and this is one hundred and thirty entries.
We're talking people like Air New Zealand and what have
you got Fonterra Holida Bank. So I mean we're talking serious,
(05:36):
big organizations and you have won the Tiara Mari Tohu
Cultural Competence Award. What does that mean to New Zealand Football?
What does it mean to you guys there that you've
actually received such a gong.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yeah, I mean we were wrapped. Not only did we
were we awarded that, but at the end of the night,
as we're obviously incredibly proud of that, and I'll talk
to that in a second, but at the end of
the night, when they considered it all all the applications
across all of the categories, every corporate, every Onterira to
say and Bank in New Zealand, who entday, he actually
just determined he's on football one.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Supreme award.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
You stole my fund. I was building up to that.
After that, I was going to say, and of course,
but that's okay, you're the CEO, You're allowed to. But
supreme award. That says so much about what you're doing
around inclusion and diversity. What was the drive here? Where
where did this come from? Why did you have to
get into the space.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, well, first of all, I think we've got a
long way to go, and what I acknowledge there's a
lot of people involved in this. It's not just board
and staff. It's a lot of stakeholders. It's Marti football
as well, our partner organization. But ultimately, you know, we've
set the goal of being the most inclusive sport in
the country. We don't think that we you know, we've
(06:55):
got growing Marti representation across referees, coaches, administrators and players,
but we need to grow up more. So we've been
putting a lot of effort in the space with a
lot of help from a lot of different people, and
Mali football have been fantastic is that you know, people
in the game who've been stoughts for a long time,
(07:16):
people like Arion Nata and others who have been flying
the flag. I think, but the national body sort of
realized we need to put a bit moreford in. We've
done a lot of things around both our strategy and
our targets specific for MARDI, but we've built done a
lot of education within the system, so trying to build
capability around language, around te kung and how we engage
with the EWE. We're bringing international teams in and out
(07:38):
of New Zealand all the time, and you know those teams.
Not only do we our national teams build strength from
a lot of Marty Tea Kung in the way that
some of our great teams like the All Blacks they.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Have done before, but also we're playing on.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Their funeral and actually building relations with EWE and then
again investing into Marli football as well are doing great
Mahi delivering football up and down the country themselves. So
it's basically about geting more people involved in the game
and people be involved and love the game.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
So yeah, and we're seeing growth from it.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
So we've got lots and lots of work to do still,
So don't get me wrong, but I think if it's
it's great see the if it's recognized that we're facing
in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Sixty thousand new female footballers after by twenty thirty five
fourteen New Mighty football twenty two thousand new players of
pussyfiker and Asian backgrounds, or they are the growth areas,
So that makes perfect sense. One last thing, Andrew, congratulations
on that. How did that stick when you first turned
up with what you were trying to do, Because there
are some workplaces that have some resistance to this. Was
(08:43):
there good traction amongst your staff and your shareholders?
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Absolutely, I think we're seeing, you know, the tired turn
in a really good way here around everything. I mean,
football is especially football. The one thing it's the global game,
is the game. If any sport should be the most
inclusive sport, it should be football. From my perspective of
it's a simple game. It's a game that anyone can play,
(09:09):
so I think, and it's it's pitched itself that around
the world for a very very long time. So you know,
across our members staff, absolutely, people have jumped right in
and I think we've you know, got a real chance
here to develop.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Key we football and a way we want to develop
it too.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
You know, it hasn't always been that way, and so
it's a proud moment I think for the game as
a whole. And there's a lot of clubs and a
lot of people are doing great work in the space.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So yeah, just really proud of the whole system.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Actually, massive week for you guys. Andrew Pregnell, Chief executive
of in New Zealand Football, as always, thanks very much
for your time and congratulations to you and all of
your staff.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Thanks so much, Darsie go well.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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