Club Update: Mā te wā Russell Fisher!

Mā te wā Russell Fisher!

His kids have flown the coop and our club President Russell Fisher has decided it’s time to join his wife in the UK where they plan to live for a couple of years to make the most of time with family. With the season back to full speed, he will be hanging up his ECB boots early next month.

Yes, the good news for us is we hope this is more ‘mā te wā’ and a ‘see you later’, than goodbye. The not so good news is we will miss Russell’s absolute passion for our club, our members and the game of football has seen ECBAFC go from strength to strength. We’ll also miss this character’s infamous live Facebook updates from the sideline of our first team games, which have become legendary across Auckland clubs. 

Russell’s invested significant time into the club over the last 12 years as a player for the Foreign League team (from 2010), a coach of numerous junior and youth teams, a Board member (since 2015) and for the last three years as President. More recently, the club has benefited from his strong leadership experience through the disruption of a pandemic – and he’s leaving us in a solid position with the club back to full speed.

To paint a picture of what Russell has helped our club achieve, our Board members say he has transitioned the club into a new era of governance and football development. In his time as President, he’s played a key role in:

• the development of player pathways models including the Junior Player Development Centres and Youth Talent Development Programmes 
• NZF accreditation of football training programmes and a coveted Y-Licence
• the appointment of Operations Manager and Director of Football
• the evolution of Board structure and function
• promoting diversity and female participation in football
• guiding the club through the highly disruptive pandemic to help maintain stakeholder stability and financial stability
• providing an active voice during the formation of the new Northern Regional Federation and use his influence across major external football stakeholders.

A recent major win for our club was securing a shortlist position as one of few host training clubs for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This accomplishment alone will create significant investment in our club facilities and fields – providing a legacy for our club’s future.

A chance to say goodbye (aka see you later)

You’re invited to join us in thanking Russell for all the time and effort that he has volunteered for our club at an upcoming farewell following the ECB Men’s first team vs Tauranga City game on Saturday 23 July at Bay City Park. The game kicks off 3pm and celebrations get underway from 4.30pm.

We hope to see you there!