New Zealand's Andre De Jong reacts after a game. Photo / Photosport
New Zealand's Andre De Jong reacts after a game. Photo / Photosport
The potential change of the All Whites' name has sparked backlash from fans across the country – but it isn't the first time a change to the team's moniker was proposed.
New Zealand Football is considering changing the name of the national men's team as part of a wider process the national body is going through to move towards more "cultural inclusivity", reports RNZ.
NZ Football reportedly began gauging feedback on the potential name change for more than six months, with the potentially racist connotation of the All Whites something being looked at.
Former NZ Football boss Michael Glading said that while the latest proposed name change is "crazy", he had a similar idea back when he was in charge of the national body in 2009, albeit for completely different reasons.
"I proposed a jersey change," he told Gold AM's Country Sport Breakfast. "My drive was very much about the fact that there were so few football teams, in fact I don't think there were any at the time that were playing in black.
"I felt that while we should always bow to our history, and you never want to throw history away, I thought that it would be a good time to maybe stand out in the crowd and wear black. I felt that it was our national colour and right from Peter Snell at the Olympics in '64.
"There was certainly history in that colour. But obviously the negative was that it would've changed the nickname if you like and it was thrown out rather quickly."
Michael Glading. Photo / Photosport
Glading, who was NZ Football chief executive from 2008-2011, added that the board at the time was quick to snuff out the idea.
"They did in fact. They thought that was the start of a very bad downhill slide in their eyes," he joked.
"For me the original argument that I had was that the black shirts are distinctive on the football field. To put racist tones on it I find staggering. It's beyond me really. But it's a crazy world we're living in at the moment and some people are so far in the middle of it they'll fall off the edge. But it's just crazy to me."
Glading said he isn't against changing the All Whites name necessarily, but he can't get behind changing it for "political correctness".
"We should all be very proud of what happened in 1982, as we should of what happened in 2010, but at the end of the day it's about looking forward rather than just looking in the rear view mirror.
"I still believe the black shirts look great, their distinctive and it is our national colour. That to me is a reason to change but to change it for political correctness is just crazy. I mean it is the colour of the shirts for goodness sake."
The New Zealand football team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Getty
He went on to use the All Blacks as an example of the absurdity of changing the national football team's nickname.
"I'm sure Beauden Barrett does not consider himself an outkast because he's a Pākehā under the name All Blacks. It just doesn't make sense. It's actually laughable but many things in this world is laughable."
Asked if the current NZ Football board would toss out the new proposed change like they did his back in 2009, Glading said: "I think there's a strong section that believes the moniker, if you like, of the All Whites is too hard to drop. And again, I'm not unsympathetic to that. It has built up that name. We live in a world also where people love nicknames. I can understand the argument for keeping the nickname.
"I can understand that there will be a lot of people that believe they're throwing away that nickname. But it is only that. It's not the name of our country. The players are representing New Zealand so it's not undoable. My proposal was laughed out of court and people did think I was crazy, perhaps I was."
On the latest All Whites' name change issue, current NZ Football boss Andrew Pragnell said in a statement to RNZ: "As with many other national bodies, New Zealand Football is on a journey around cultural inclusivity and respecting the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
"As part of our Delivery and Sustainability Project announced last year, we are in the process of working with stakeholders across the game, as well as people from outside football, looking at all areas of the organisation to make sure they are fit for purpose in 2021 and beyond.
"It is too early in the process to speak about any outcomes but this is an important piece of work as we strive to be the most inclusive sport in Aotearoa."
What's in a name?
Wynton Rufer in action for the All Whites in 1982. Photo / Getty
The All Whites name came about during the team's qualifying run ahead of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
The team had predominantly worn white shirts and socks with black shorts but after coming onto the pitch or their third qualifying match away to Taiwan in a full white playing kit, the moniker was coined and swiftly adopted.
That 1982 team, of course, famously went on to earn New Zealand a place at the football World Cup for the first time.
The name and full white kit are also closely associated with the team that qualified for the 2010 World Cup, where they earned plaudits around the world for going unbeaten in their three group matches.
Several major sports teams have changed their name in recent years due to their potentially racial connotations, most notably in the US.
American Football franchise Washington dropped the Redskins moniker, while the Major League Baseball side from Cleveland was no longer known as the Indians - both changes made because of the names' ties to Native American culture.
In New Zealand, the Crusaders rugby team didn't change their name but did change their logo in 2019 after questions were raised about the appropriateness of the name due to its reference to the religious wars between the Muslims and Christians in the Middle Ages.
