Community: Ifill ready to lace up the boots again
It is the camaraderie of club football that former Wellington Phoenix legend Paul Ifill has missed the most during lockdown.
And it is the main reason he plans to play the sport until he is unable to walk.
So Ifill was ecstatic to learn that team sport will resume at alert level two, allowing him to lace up the football boots for Wairarapa United for another winter season.
He will also be able to stand on the sidelines in his role as coach of Wairarapa’s women’s team. However, Ifill did anticipate one major change to the football landscape in New Zealand post Covid-19.
‘‘I’m really excited,’’ Ifill said. ‘‘I’m still doing both, I’m still playing and coaching so from both perspectives it’s going to be nice to get back out there and kick a ball around again.
‘‘It will be nice to be able to coach again. I’m doubly looking forward to it.
‘‘It’s been a long road, and it’s not just the levels we play at and professionally, but lower than that. It’s just about going out there on the weekend and having something to look forward to.’’
Although New Zealand Football is yet to issue a specific return date, team sport will be allowed to resume in level two under strict guidelines that 40-year-old Ifill said will be relatively easy to follow for amateur footballers, who are desperate to return to the pitch.
The guidelines include having a contact-tracing register for all participants and spectators, and basic hygiene measures, including washing and drying hands before and after any activity.
The timing of football’s return is almost perfect for Ifill as the stint in
Paul Ifill, above, during his days with the Wellington Phoenix
lockdown allowed him another six weeks to get over a serious concussion he suffered when he was struck on the head by a freekick during a Central League game last year.
He said the most challenging aspect would be policing mass gatherings of 100 people at venues that were not enclosed.
Ifill, who runs an academy in Nelson and Wairarapa, expected there to be one major change when football returns.
He expected clubs to shift away from paying players and recruiting from overseas as sponsorship and
‘‘It’s just about going out there on the weekend and having something to look forward to.’’
gaming trust money dried up, but believed that would have long-term benefits for football in New Zealand.
‘‘If you’re looking to bring players from overseas, they can’t get into the country and where do you get the money from? I’d be embarrassed to go and ask somebody for sponsorship right now.
‘‘I think it will change club football but I think it will change for the better.
‘‘A lot of clubs will have to invest in their youth and look to bring players through, and that’s what it should be about.’’
While a decision on when the country will move into level two is due on Monday, Ifill believed it would take two weeks for players to reach a level of fitness required to be competitive and suggested increasing the number of substitutions from three to five as a temporary measure.
NZ Football has previously indicated that football will not resume any earlier than May 30.