By TERRY MADDAFORD
Former All White Sam Malcolmson, once interested in a leadership role at the Kingz, is set to join the board of New Zealand Soccer today.
Malcolmson will take his place on the eight-strong board in place of Rex Dawkins, who has stepped aside to drive the Waitakere United franchise in the new national league.
Delegates at New Zealand Soccer's annual congress in Auckland will learn of a healthy $394,000 surplus from a $6 million operation - only slightly down from the $407,000 they reported a year ago. NZS has recorded profits of more than $1 million over the past four years.
The All Whites' participation in last year's Confederations Cup in France earned the national body almost $1.5 million before expenses.
The past year has been another strong one for NZS, including a multimillion-dollar Nike sponsorship.
On the field, the International Player Development Programme was introduced to thousands of young boys and girls in a concerted effort to identify and prepare players for age-group teams.
Nearly 5000 players from 8 to 17 were involved in the programme, which has played a part in the selection of under-15 teams who will play in Italy and Malaysia this month.
New Zealand Soccer continues to encourage players to play overseas.
Almost 30 players (male and female) played professionally for overseas clubs at various levels last year. A further 25 played for various US Colleges.
The Coach Education initiative has been a big success, with 45 invitees - many former internationals - attending courses aimed at producing more qualified coaches at the highest level.
The highly successful Small Whites programme, backed by Bluebird, Nike, Milo, Lego and McDonald's, was again a major contributor to the continued rise in player numbers.
Soccer continues to be the most popular sport at under-17 level in New Zealand.
The sometimes rocky switch from associations to federations has produced its best result, with six of the seven federations returning a profit.
The huge increase in the number of referees is also encouraging. The 887 who attended courses last year represented a 166 per cent increase.
Soccer on a roll as an old hand joins board
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