Darren Bazeley Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Darren Bazeley has finally been appointed as coach of the All Whites on a permanet basis.
The side has been without a permanent coach since Danny Hay left the job in October 2022.
Bazeley, who has also been the New Zealand men's under-20 coach, will lead the national team for the FIFA World Cup 2026 cycle and the U-23 side for the Paris 2024 Olympic campaign.
Bazeley has been in the All Whites head coach role on an interim basis since March 2023 and has overseen a win and draw against China, a loss to Sweden and the recent abandoned game against Qatar when New Zealand refused to take the field in the second half following allegations defender Michael Boxall was racially.
At age group level, Bazeley led the men's U-20 team to the Last 16 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2015, 2017 and most recently again in May 2023.
"This has been an in-depth recruitment process and I'm confident we have the right person to lead the team for the new FIFA World Cup cycle," said chief executive Andrew Pragnell.
"While the appointment process took longer than initially expected it allowed us to test Darren in the role, and he proved to all of us he was the right candidate for the job.
"Darren has consistently delivered at age group level, received consistently positive feedback as the All Whites assistant head coach in previous campaigns and has stepped up seamlessly to the senior national team during his time as interim head coach, leading the team to positive results and performances against higher ranked sides.
Joe Bell of New Zealand All Whites (l) battles for the ball with Joel Campbell of Costa Rica (c) during New Zealand All Whites v Costa Rica World Cup Intercontinental Playoff Match at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Doha, Qatar on Tuesday 14 June 2022. Photo: Photosport / Power Sport Images / Simon Lloyd Holmes
"I'm proud of the progress we have made as a team over the last four international matches, which is a result of real collaboration between the coaching team and playing group to play a style of football that everyone wants to see," said Bazeley.
"I have known and coached many of the players in this group for a long time so it will be a real privilege to continue on the journey with them to develop football in New Zealand and leave a legacy for the next generation.
Bazeley has coached internationally since 2009, as well as domestically in Aotearoa New Zealand, the A-League and the MLS.
As a player, Bazeley played over 500 professional games over an 18-year career including for Watford FC (283 games), Wolverhampton Wanderers (80) and Walsall FC (100).
Darren Bazeley's first games as head coach will be the OFC Men's Olympic Qualifiers in August, followed by All Whites fixtures in the October and November FIFA windows.
-RNZ