New Zealand Football continued overhauling its governance after
a tumultuous 2018 by electing Johanna Wood as its first female president at an annual congress in Auckland on Tuesday.
Wood, who was elected to NZF’s executive committee in 2018 for a four-year term, replaces acting President Phil Barry, who resigned last week.
Barry replaced Deryck Shaw, who resigned in October 2018 after an independent review found the executive committee adopted a ‘hands off approach’ to
governance following complaints by the women’s national team about their coach.
Wood, the new NZ Football boss, said in a statement on Tuesday that “we have gone through and are continuing to go through a period of transition.
“Both ExCo and the senior management team are committed to delivering the recommendations of the independent review.”
Until her election, Wood was acting Vice President and was last month elected as the Oceania confederation’s member to the FIFA
Council, which sets the world governing body’s strategic direction.
NZF was engulfed in controversy last year with the Football Ferns’ women’s team complaining about the environment created by
coach Andreas Heraf, who eventually resigned.
Heraf was also NZF’s national technical director.
Chief Executive Andy Martin also left the organisation and was yet to be replaced.
