High Potential to High Performance - A Strategy for Kiwi Success on the World Stage - Creating the ‘Kiwi Way’ of Winning at Football World Cups

This project investigates the design and execution of a campaign plan for the New Zealand national men’s football team (All Whites) to achieve success at football World Cups. It builds on past successes and lessons, leverages New Zealand’s unique strengths, addresses distinctive challenges and capitalises on the expanded qualification pathways created by the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The aim is to develop a personalised approach - ‘The Kiwi Way’ - that optimises both on- and off-field performance, fosters collaboration and shared commitment, and achieves the ultimate objective of qualifying for and excelling at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As part of my All Whites Assistant Coach role, I undertook this work-based enquiry as a participant researcher, using a pragmatic and autoethnographic lens to deepen my understanding of the interplay between theory and practice. I explored how professional identity and collective efficacy intersect to shape a distinct ‘Kiwi Way’ of football that reflects New Zealand’s culture and competitive advantages. Additionally, I used qualitative data from internal team dynamics and external perspectives to ensure the campaign plan was grounded in evidence, relevant to the team’s aspirational goals, and capable of being continuously tracked and refined. The project followed two key methodologies across distinct yet interconnected phases. Phases one and two focused on preparing and co-creating the campaign plan with key stakeholders using a participatory action research approach. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, observations, and anecdotal evidence to address the evolving complexities of football coaching and inform the plan’s initial design. Phase three emphasised implementation, testing, and refinement using developmental evaluation. This phase prioritised iterative learning and adaptation by integrating insights from interviews, surveys, stakeholder input, and real-world application into the evolving plan. Beyond achieving the All Whites’ performance objectives for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the co-created campaign plan aims to serve as a strategic roadmap for New Zealand Football. It provides a sustainable framework for success at future World Cups across international teams and supports the broader organisational goals related to high performance. Furthermore, the lessons learned during the campaign plan’s development and implementation have the potential to inform high-performance strategies across other national sporting codes, contributing to the advancement of sport in New Zealand.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Professional Practice

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Otago Polytechnic

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Readings, Anthony

• campaign plan
• The Kiwi Way
• participatory action research
• developmental evaluation
• collective efficacy
• New Zealand football
• high performance sport

Statement dc:rights

• CC BY-NC-ND Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/7123

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchbank.ac.nz:10652/7123