Seatter defends programmeas NZS finances get stretched

Suspicions have been raised about how New Zealand Soccer has managed to afford its ambitious programme after a year of unprecedented international activity at all levels of the game.

Last year, only nine international games were played, including one by the All Whites. This year, as many as 70 will be played by national teams at all levels - a move that has helped get New Zealand back on the international football radar.

A Sparc financial rescue package has helped NZS fund their ambitious programme and has also helped the governing body turn around two years of disastrous financial returns. NZS lost more than $400,000 each of the past two years, leaving them with no cash in the bank and certainly no cash to send teams overseas.

NZS chief executive Graham Seatter approached Sparc at the end of last year asking for help and the sports funding agency agreed to give them an advance on their annual handout. NZS received about $500,000 - $270,000 of which is the normal annual Sparc funding, along with advances over the next three years.

That money has allowed NZS not only to plan but also to get New Zealand teams playing again and they are now expecting to post a small profit - with the Sparc top-up still in reserve.

There are concerns from some, however, that NZS are too ambitious and taking too many risks, given the standing of the game in this country. Seatter has recently come under fire, with a behind-the-scenes campaign of disaffected individuals trying to unseat the sometimes outspoken boss.

One strong rumour last week even suggested the board had lost confidence in Seatter and that he was effectively on gardening leave (he was on holiday with his family).

"We are delighted with the way things are going with Graham and the fact the game has a higher profile than it has for a long time," NZS chairman John Morris said.

Seatter has certainly awakened the game from its slumber since coming into the post last year. He is ambitious and has lofty plans for the game here but has upset some people along the way - but that's nothing new because football has been riddled with clashes of ego throughout its history.

"There are people who are uneasy, suspicious or jealous about what we are doing because we have done nothing for so long," Seatter said. "The Sparc money has enabled us to be a bit more adventurous but I would have got the money from somewhere - maybe Oceania or a bank loan.

"I didn't come into this job to do nothing. We have to take some risks because we are not going to go down the road we have in the past."

NZS believe they have been handed a huge opportunity with Australia having joined the Asian confederation. They have set the target of not merely qualifying but being competitive at the 13 Fifa tournaments and the Olympics to be held in the next four years. That obviously costs money.

It started with the under-20 women this year, who created history when they drew with Brazil in Russia. It cost more than $600,000 to put together a 12-month programme, with NZS picking up about $150,000 of the bill.

Compare that to the past two years, which were plagued by teams either performing poorly or being pulled out of Oceania qualifying tournaments. The men's under-20s, for example, finished a lowly fifth, while the under-17s were withdrawn at the last minute. Furthermore, before 2006, New Zealand contested only four world events (the World Cup in 1982, women's world cup in 1991 and under-17 men's world cup in 1997 and as hosts in 1999).

Tours at any level are largely self-funding because the hosts pick up most of the costs. The All Whites played 11 games this season, at a total cost to NZS of about $250,000, with the nine games played overseas amounting to only $100,000.

Oceania feels a responsibility to New Zealand because, as the confederation's top nation, they represent the relative health of the beleaguered organisation. If New Zealand fail at world tournaments, Oceania is unlikely to to be around much longer.

Because of this, Oceania is considering an application from NZS for $300,000 to help their elite programme and Seatter is also confident of securing additional sponsorship.

NZS don't pretend to have turned everything around and the domestic game, including the NZFC, still needs attention. But at the end of it all, they have adopted the mantra it is better to try and fail than not try at all.