Ex-All White to get top FIFA honour

Steve Sumner joins Nelson Mandela and Henry Kissinger as a winner of the FIFA Order of Merit. File Photo / NZ Herald

Former All Whites soccer captain Steve Sumner will join the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Sir Bobby Moore when he receives the Fifa order of merit next month.

Sumner, who led New Zealand at the 1982 World Cup, will become this country's first recipient of the sport's highest honour during the Fifa Congress in South Africa on June 9-10.

The Fifa executive committee nominated Sumner following a proposal by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and New Zealand Football (NZF).

The order of merit is awarded to people considered to have made a significant contribution to soccer, and Sumner today said he felt "very humbled" by the honour.

"It's exciting when you look down the list of people who have received the award from fantastic footballers to people like Nelson Mandela," Sumner said.

"It's not something I had thought of until I was nominated, and I'm very thankful to both New Zealand Football and Oceania Football Confederation."

Born in England in 1955, Sumner enjoyed a glittering international career, playing a record 105 matches for New Zealand between 1976 and 1988, including 58 A internationals, and scoring 27 goals.

A former assistant coach of the All Whites, Sumner has also served the game as an administrator, as the current president of Mainland Football and a former NZF board member.

He is perhaps best remembered for scoring Oceania's first goal at a World Cup when New Zealand lost 2-5 to Scotland in Malaga, Spain, in 1982.

The talismanic midfielder was also inspirational during the 1981-82 qualifying campaign, claiming a six-goal haul against Fiji for what was a then World Cup qualification record and then scoring a crucial late equaliser against Australia to begin a remarkable string of results for the All Whites.

Sumner moved to New Zealand as a 17-year-old in 1973 when he joined Christchurch United. He earned a record six Chatham Cup titles, including four for Christchurch, and one each for Manurewa and Gisborne City, the latter as player-coach.

OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas said it was a proud moment for New Zealand and for Oceania soccer.

"The Fifa order of merit is reserved for those who have made an extraordinary contribution to the development and success of our sport. We are delighted to see one of Oceania's favourite football sons join the ranks of what is a very select group of individuals who have been nominated for this distinction," he said.

NZF chairman Frank van Hattum, a former World Cup teammate of Sumner's, echoed Nicholas' sentiments.

"Steve's passion and commitment to football is well known to all football fans and this is apt recognition of his continued support for all levels of the game."

- NZPA