Hay named as All Whites Head Coach

Hay named as All Whites Head Coach

New Zealand Football is pleased to announce Danny Hay as the new All Whites Head Coach.

The former All Whites captain, who played for the national team for 11 years, playing in 31 A internationals, was announced as the 18th Head Coach of the national team today in Auckland.

The 44-year-old, who led Eastern Suburbs to their first win of the ISPS Handa Premiership last year, is a former New Zealand U-17 Head Coach. Hay follows Ricki Herbert in becoming just the second person to captain and coach the national team.

New Zealand Football Chief Executive Andrew Pragnell believes Hay is a great appointment.

“We are really pleased to have Danny confirmed as our new All Whites Head Coach,” Pragnell says.

“He brings to the role a huge amount of experience within the All Whites environment, both as a player and as a national age group coach, and we believe he is the right person to lead the team to achieve the goal of the All Whites winning on the world stage.

“We are looking forward to having Danny back in the All Whites environment as the team builds in its activity towards FIFA World Cup qualification in 2022.”

Hay says it is a huge honour to be named as Head Coach of the national team he cares deeply about.

“I’ve been heavily invested in the game in this country for a very long time now, and the All Whites in particular is something that is very close to my heart having played for, and captained, the side,” he says.

“As a proud New Zealander, and proud football person, this is a huge opportunity on a personal level, but also comes with massive responsibility to ensure I do the best job I can.”

Hay says what excites him more than anything about this role is the opportunity to bring together and work with a group of players who genuinely want to do well for their country.

“It’s an exciting time for the game as I firmly believe we have a balance of experience, youthful vitality and real quality,” he says.

“The mix of players who have been at big clubs in Europe for a number of years, those operating consistently at MLS [Major League Soccer] and A-League level, combined with some emerging talent, has to excite any football fan looking to the future. Ultimately, the next few years is about bringing these players together on a regular basis so that we have a genuine chance of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.”

Hay is one of six players from New Zealand to compete in the English Premier League (making five appearances with Leeds United from 1999 to 2002). He has forged a home-grown coaching career.

He worked at Sacred Heart College from 2007 to 2019 and was the New Zealand U-17 Head Coach for two FIFA World Cup cycles where in 2015 they made the Round of 16 after defeating Paraguay and drawing with Syria. They lost 1-0 to Brazil in the Round of 16. In 2017, the U-17s drew with Turkey and competed well with Mali and Paraguay.

At Eastern Suburbs, he has built an exciting young team which is comprised of many of the next generation of New Zealand footballers. The Lily Whites made history in April by claiming their first national league title since 1971.

New Zealand Football conducted a robust process to recruit the All Whites Head Coach. The All Whites recruitment panel included Pragnell, Andy Boyens (NZF Interim Technical Director), Jackie Barron (NZF ExCo Member), Jacob Spoonley (NZ PFA) and Rob Sherman (Former NZF Technical Director).

Hay will begin with the All Whites next month and will be straight into his work as he selects his first squad for the international friendlies against Ireland and Lithuania in November.

All Whites Head Coaches in History
Lou Brocic 1964-66, 69
Juan Schwanner 1967-68
Barrie Truman 1970-76, 78
Wally Hughes 1977-78
John Adshead 1979-82, 89
Allan Jones 1983-84
Kevin Fallon 1985-88
Ian Marshall 1990-93
Bobby Clark 1994-95
Keith Pritchett 1996-1997
Joe McGrath 1997-98
Ken Dugdale 1998-2002
Mick Waitt 2002-2004
Ricki Herbert 2005-2013
Neil Emblen (interim) 2014
Anthony Hudson 2014-2017
Fritz Schmid 2018-2019
Danny Hay 2019 –

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