Martin Devlin: Congratulations New Zealand Football, you are our biggest sporting basketcase

NZ Football CEO Andy Martin during a NZ football press conference. Photosport

Congratulations New Zealand Football what an honour. You've just surpassed New Zealand Cycling as the biggest basketcase in our country's sporting administration.

Now we've all been told at one point or another "if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all".

If that's the case then this wee spiel would be over already because the truth is, right now, there isn't anything good to say.

The Andreas Heraf palava is quite simply an embarrassment to the game and everyone responsible for appointing him in the first place. He arrived as technical director then scored the job as senior women's coach while another friend of his, another unknown and unheard of, then somehow wangled the senior men's job.

Heraf's comments following the Ferns loss to Japan should've been the final red flag.

The guy has done zero to integrate himself into the game here, in fact quite the opposite, bizarrely thinking that a patronising self-serving colonial arrogance was both the way to win us over and take the sport forward.

He couldn't be more wrong.

The action taken by so many of the Ferns, refusing to play while he remains involved,
must signal the end of his employment. Anything else will only leave CEO Andy Martin in
an equally untenable position.

Football In New Zealand needs to be run by New Zealanders. And I'm not being xenophobic by saying that. What I mean is by people committed to this country.

By people who believe in the infrastructure we already have, that want to stay here, be here, live here and see this long-term project through.

Quite frankly we are sick and tired of fly-by-nighters using the sport here as a stepping stone to further their careers offshore and elsewhere.

There are plenty of talented, qualified, experienced and committed men and women crying out for these elite jobs.

It's pretty simple NZF. If you want to win the people back then here's the solution, open your eyes NZF, listen, act and start appointing the right people into these positions.