"What Tony and entire Ferns group have achieved in the last four years has built an excellent platform for even further success which will not only fuel the current group of players but also inspire the generation to follow.
"As we aim to reposition football in New Zealand the performance of the Football Ferns has been, and will continue be, a key factor in that push and in re-signing Tony we have secured one of the key people to influence that journey."
The 39-year-old Readings says a number of factors made the decision relatively simple.
"Obviously I'm very happy to have made this decision," Readings said.
"New Zealand Football have shown faith in me to carry on in the role and it was quite an easy decision really because we've got this great group of players and we're performing better than ever.
"We've just come back from the World Cup where we put in some personal best performances and it's a great group of staff that I personally love working with.
"What's most appealing about the whole thing is that as a group there is so much potential yet to be realised. We've come so far but there is still more we can do and I'm really glad to be part of that and I've got a strong belief we can keep kicking on from here."
Since taking the reins of the team, Readings says the staff and players have powered his own development; a mutual growth which has strengthened the entire set up.
"I think over this last four years I've definitely improved as a coach personally and that's through working with some excellent coaches and some excellent players who inspire you to keep working harder and improve yourself.
"What I'm hoping over the next four years is that I personally can keep improving and the team can mirror that as well and we become a team which is not just getting performances but results on the world stage."
Readings says their first ever appearance in the last eight at the Olympics in 2012 was a watershed moment in the Football Ferns programme.
"Reaching the quarter-finals of the Olympics is probably the biggest highlight. Not just because of the achievement itself but I think it's the opportunities it's presented us since that point. Without that success we wouldn't have so much funding and support from High Performance Sport New Zealand.
"We've repaid a lot of the faith they showed in us and we've been able to surround the team with a lot more support and quality resource and we've been able to play a lot more games.
"Winning the Valais Cup was great in 2013 and in general the way the team keeps progressing and improving. Women's football is accelerating forward and keeping pace is hard enough but I think we've done more than that. We haven't just kept pace with it we've actually caught up quite a few teams and closed the gap on the top ones."
Looking ahead into the next World Cup cycle and beyond, Readings says the Football Ferns are well placed to continue their push towards the very top of the game.
"We do a lot of research around what leads to success and a lot of that centres around teams which have a high average age in their squad and a high number of caps," Readings said.
"We have a fairly experienced squad at a really young age. We have the Olympics next year which we're working hard towards and beyond that the squad moving forwards to 2019 and 2020 Olympics is going to be in a really strong position.
"We will have a high average age in the squad and we'll have an abundance of experience in the group and that's when the team should really start realising its potential.
"That's the most exciting thing: the performances they'll be putting in every year between now and the next World Cup and Olympics are going to keep getting better and better. To be part of that and help players do that is going to be an exciting challenge and something we're looking forward to."
