KEY POINTS:
New Zealand Football (NZF) chief executive Graham Seatter is to step aside after three years in the role.
Seatter today announced his resignation and he will leave the organisation on April 18 after guiding the sport through a period of expansion.
NZF chairman John Morris thanked Seatter for
his "tireless work" for the game.
" Graham's energy, passion and boundless optimism for our game will be sadly missed," Morris said before announcing a new tack for the code.
Morris confirmed that the NZF board would look for a new chief executive and at the same time take a more operational role in an effort to drive the organisation on the road to long-term financial sustainability.
The restructure will also include a review of NZF's current administrative setup and strategic plan.
Seatter's decision to quit follows months of internal squabbling in the sport after it emerged NZF faces a financial loss this year of close to $500,000.
Much of the blame for that deficit falls on two World Cup qualifying matches - the postponed fixture against Fiji and the match against Vanuatu in Wellington which attracted a poor gate.
While sad to walk away from the game, Seatter departs confident the sport has grown under his watch, an ambitious period of expansion that had been "widely accepted" by the game.
"There is no secret that my three years have been very challenging from a financial viewpoint but that is nothing new for football and is increasingly the case for a growing number of sports in New Zealand," Seatter said.
" But I firmly believe we have made progress and now that a financial solution has been found I believe the sport is in good shape. The time is right for someone new to drive the new era."
Seatter rates the return of the All Whites from soccer's international wilderness, the retention of New Zealand's A-League licence and resurgence of the women's game as his proudest accomplishments as chief executive.
After playing just one international in 2005, the All Whites are on the brink of qualifying for next year's Confederations Cup in South Africa and a World Cup playoff on the back of a schedule of 18 matches in 21 months.
The birth of the Wellington Phoenix from the ashes of the failed New Zealand Knights A-League franchise remains one of Seatter's toughest, yet most important, victories.
He has also overseen significant initiatives domestically including player, coach and referee development programmes.
Seatter said he would take "time out" to consider his options.
- NZPA
