wrong thread.
Ooohhh am I an international player? I'm a wee bit old.
Hi Michael,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Executive Committee and management team of
NZ Football to update you personally on the events of the last two weeks,
arising from the disqualification of our Men’s Olympic team from a tournament
in Papua New Guinea. This disqualification arose as a result of alleged
discrepancies in the eligibility of one of our players.
May I first say that we are all deeply upset and sorry for the stress and
concern that this difficult situation has caused our players, their families,
team and management and the wider football community.
Since the initial decision we have been working hard to understand the series
of events and issues that led to the disqualification. Last week we
received the formal written advice from the Oceania Football Confederation
(OFC) Disciplinary Committee which outlined the grounds on which we were
disqualified and the rules that they applied in doing so. As our CEO said
at the outset of this situation, playing a qualifying tournament within another
event (in this case the Pacific Games) has led to considerable confusion.
We believed this had been clarified in advance of the event, however the
decision of the OFC says that the OFC did not think this was the case.
In the last few days the Executive Committee has met and been presented with
comprehensive advice from our legal team. Having had the opportunity to review
all of the information now available to us, we remain disappointed at the
sequence of events that led to the harsh decision to disqualify our team. Your
Executive Committee has therefore unanimously agreed that there are sufficient
grounds to appeal, both in terms of the process undertaken, and the rules
applied.
We will be filing our appeal later this week, and will keep you fully informed
of developments as and when we can. You will appreciate that given the legal
process we are now entering into; it would not be appropriate to comment
further at this time.
In the meantime our players remain our top priority. Our management team is
currently reviewing all of our internal processes and eligibility information
to ensure we do not put ourselves in a position where this could happen again.
We intend to have this internal review completed in the next few weeks, and
once complete will put in place a programme of action to remedy any eligibility
concerns should any arise. This work programme is our key focus, and will be
completed irrespective of the outcome of the appeal.
We have been working hard to build a better professional football operation in
New Zealand, to support our shared ambition to qualify for and win at World Cup
events on a regular basis. While we have made some great progress -
evidenced by our Football Ferns and U20 Men making history at their recent
World Cups - this situation has shown us that we still have work to do.
Please be assured that you have the full commitment of your Executive Committee
and management to achieve this.
I’m conscious that many of you may well have concerns and questions. Please
don’t hesitate to contact me personally should you wish to discuss them
further. In the meantime we thank you for your commitment to New Zealand
Football, and appreciate all of your concern and ongoing support.
Yours sincerely,
Deryck Shaw