The New Zealand Football Association announced on Saturday that the contract of first team coach Darren Paisley would not be renewed, after he led the team to a draw and two losses in the World Cup finals last summer.
Paisley will end a four-year spell with the national team when his contract expires after two international friendly matches in New Zealand against India in November.
The 54-year-old coach contributed to leading New Zealand to its second participation in the Men's World Cup. It tied with Iran 2-2 before losing to Egypt 1-3 and Belgium 1-5.
The New Zealand team, known as the “All Whites”, was the lowest ranked team among the teams participating in the tournament, which included 48 teams, as it ranked 86th in the world.
Paisley said he was disappointed to be leaving the position, but acknowledged that there were expectations that the New Zealand national team would succeed in progressing beyond the group stage for the first time.
He added: “I was certainly eager to continue working during the next session, but I understand that this was a football (technical) decision taken by the New Zealand Football Association, and in the end we did not achieve the results we aspired to.”
He continued: “I think we have built something very beautiful over the past four years with a young group of players. Although I will not be part of the team in the future, I look forward to seeing its development in preparation for the next World Cup, because I believe very much in this group.”
Paisley, who was born in England, played for many years as a defender for Watford, and also worked as a coach at various levels within New Zealand for 15 years, including a period as assistant coach for the first national team, before succeeding Danny Haye as coach in 2022.
Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), confirmed that he has the support of the “overwhelming majority” of football federations around the world, ruling out pressures calling for his departure against the backdrop of the controversy sparked by his plan to sell part of the commercial rights to the World Cup to private investors. While he met a question about his thinking about resigning with laughter.
In a rare interview with BBC Sport, conducted by its sports correspondent, Laura Scott, in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, Infantino spoke in a confident tone about his future as president of the International Federation, two months after opposition escalated against him due to the “FIFA Forward Enterprise” project, which sparked sharp disagreements between him and a number of continental federations.
“There is nothing wrong with being different,” Infantino said. We see this every day in many countries of the world. It is natural to disagree and have multiple points of view, but then we need the ability to move forward.
Two months ago, the presidents of the European Football Association (UEFA), the Asian Confederation, and the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) signed a joint letter; In it, they accused Infantino of breaching trust “through deception,” against the backdrop of the project that aimed to sell part of the International Federation’s commercial rights to a private investment company, before canceling it a few days after it was revealed.
European pressure continued last week, after UEFA demanded that the International Federation hand over all basic documents related to the project before November 2, amid its Secretary-General Theodore Theodoridis’ assertion that FIFA had not provided answers to a number of fundamental questions.
On the other hand, Infantino intensified his international movements during the recent period, moving between Morocco, the Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and Japan, in a series of visits during which he strengthened support for his candidacy for a fourth term in the elections scheduled for next March.
He also proposed increasing the funding allocated to developing football around the world by $3.4 billion, in a move that coincides with his efforts to strengthen his relations with national federations.
The FIFA President relied on the recent shift in the position of the Asian Confederation, after its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, announced his major retreat and his full support for Infantino during the Tokyo meetings, despite his previous participation in the speech that criticized his leadership.
Infantino said: “I just came back from Tokyo; The Asian Football Confederation announced its full support for me. I was in Cape Verde; All African countries announced their support for me. “I am talking to national federations around the world.”
He added: “If we are serious about democracy and the democratic process, and if we believe that everyone has the same voice and the same right to expression, and that football belongs to everyone, then we must also respect the opinions of the overwhelming majority.”
Infantino had apologized during the FIFA Council meeting last week regarding the method of communication and consultation related to the project to sell commercial rights, while he faced direct criticism from members of the Council, who confirmed that he was not fit to continue as president of the International Federation unless he submitted the required documents, including the justifications on which the project was based.
When asked about the date of delivery of these documents, he did not provide a specific date, explaining that the matter was subject to legal procedures.
He said: “We will, of course, answer all the questions asked, to the extent permitted by legal procedures, and to the best of our ability.”
Infantino admitted that his administration was not successful in all of its decisions, saying that the International Federation was doing its best, while acknowledging that some things “may not have been as good as desired.”
He also stressed the need to intensify dialogue with the European Union to address existing differences, stressing that differences in views should not prevent the continuation of joint work.
When the BBC asked him whether he was qualified to continue as FIFA president, and whether he had considered stepping down from his position, he laughed before answering: “As you know, I was elected by 211 national federations from around the world.”
He continued: “In an organization like FIFA, there can be different points of view, and it is not always easy to gather them all under one roof, but we need to respect them, and I respect all opinions. In the end, it will be the decision of the national federations to determine who they want as their president, and how they want to manage the International Federation.
Nominations for the presidential elections close on November 18, and no competitor to Infantino has officially applied yet, leaving the possibility of him running in the elections without a competitor.
Infantino's statements coincided with his visit to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to attend the first edition of the U-15 World Cup, and its accompanying festival, with the participation of teams representing 189 national federations, including England, Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil.
The tournament witnessed the participation of a Russian team for the first time in a competition under the supervision of FIFA since the decision of the International Federation and the European Union to suspend the participation of Russian teams in international competitions in February 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The current edition will be held for male teams only, with next year’s edition being allocated to women’s teams, before implementing a plan to hold competitions for both sexes annually, starting in 2028.
Matches are played with 8 players per team, on smaller fields, and with two halves of 20 minutes each.
Regarding the championship, Infantino said: “It is nice to bring the world together at such a young age. And when some of these boys participate in the World Cup in 10 or 20 years, they will all remember that their first participation in a World Cup was here.”
These statements come at a time when the continental federations’ positions on FIFA’s leadership are being redrawn, after the Asian Confederation moved from opposing Infantino to supporting him, while the European Union adheres to its demands related to transparency and disclosure of the documents of the controversial investment project.
