KEY POINTS:
One goalkeeper passed the ball to another as Frank van Hattum succeeded John Morris as chairman of the New Zealand Football board at their annual congress yesterday.
Van Hattum, retail manager and a director at BP, follows Morris who resigned after six years in the role.
One of van Hattum's first tasks will be to name the association's new chief executive who will replace Graham Seatter who quit earlier this year.
The board yesterday interviewed two candidates for the role which van Hattum sees as pivotal as the sport seeks to move forward following a stormy few months in which their financial woes have been well aired.
"There is no silver bullet," said van Hattum. "We can't be all things to all people but we are determined, as a board, to get things right. Already there has been a significant reduction in expenditure and significant support as we look to turn it [the financial situation] around.
"The support we have, gratefully, had from Sparc is not a handout but recognition they feel we are heading in the right direction. In the last six months we have been putting a financially sustainable rescue package in place.
"Hindsight is a wonderful thing but financial issues are not new for us or many other sporting organisations. We are not through it by a long stretch but I'm sure with a closer co-operation between the board and the office we can work through it.
"There is also a genuine commitment from our seven federations to work as one."
Van Hattum, declining to reveal how much Sparc had delivered, said the focus was now on what had, and will continue to be, achieved on the field. "We are heading into Olympic, World Cup and Fifa under-17 campaigns," said van Hattum. "That has to be our focus."
Van Hattum, who offered himself for re-election despite being halfway through a two-year term, was re-elected. Fred de Jong (elected) and Andrew Titter (appointed) are also back while previously co-opted members Mark Aspden and Bill Moran were appointed as full members with Moran now deputy chairman.
The newcomers are Mainland Football chairman Mark Stewart (elected) and former media executive Peter O'Hara (appointed).
Van Hattum's election was tinged with sadness as he learned of Charlie Dempsey's passing.
"The whole of New Zealand owes Charlie a debt of gratitude," said van Hattum. "We should never underestimate how powerful he was on the world stage."
