NZ Football president Johanna Wood has become the first football administrator to win the Sports Leadership Award at the annual Halberg Awards.
She received the award at the Auckland-based event, in recognition of her rise through the governance ranks of the sport.
A former chair of Central Football Federation, Wood joined NZ Football’s Executive Committee in 2018 and was elected president the following year, becoming the first woman to lead football in New Zealand.
She was elected to FIFA Council as a representative of the Oceania Football Confederation in 2019.
The award also recognises her leadership in the successful joint bid by Australia and New Zealand to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“There were a lot of comments last night that FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is going to be the biggest, most amazing event for women, not just in the world but here in New Zealand and Australia,” Wood told NZFootball.co.nz.
“And it’s about having women visible both on and off the pitch.”
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