From inception to pitch side

Dr Trish Bradbury, Senior Lecturer – School of Management, Bachelor of Sport Management.

Dr Trish Bradbury is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Management, with a special interest in sport and business management relating to events. She can now add Protocol Officer, Eden Park – Guest Operations for FIFA to her list of expertise.

Already having a comprehensive understanding of mega international events, Dr Bradbury says her FIFA experience has helped supplement her knowledge and will enhance her teaching content with real examples and personal experiences.

Dr Bradbury’s role largely involved being responsible for meeting protocol logistics for important guests at Eden Park.

“The guests that fell within the V/VIP category included FIFA President and Secretary General, FIFA Council members and Member Association Presidents and FIFA legends. There were also diplomatic corps including ambassadors and honorary consuls, New Zealand’s Governor-General, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and the leader of the opposition Christopher Luxon, along with ministers, MPs, mayors and council members,” Dr Bradbury says.

“It was the people who made the event so special,” she adds.

“I met people from all over the world who were passionate and excited to be part of the event. The teamwork, mutual respect and support was amazing. Of course, the football itself was a highlight - the atmosphere of the entire event was explosive!”

Gary Mack – Grounds Manager

Grounds Manager Gary Mack’s involvement began before the tournament was awarded to Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, seeing him presenting Massey as a potential Training Base Camp host, then project managing the pitch reconstruction and floodlighting upgrade at the Sport Institute when it was eventually chosen by the Spanish Team.

His role as FIFA Pitch Venue Manager included supporting the venue manager with daily operations, attending match coordination meetings, observing pitch team operations and match day setups in line with FIFA requirements, as well as carrying out visits to nominated training sites and ensuring the next day’s pitch maintenance plan was carried out.

Mr Mack says getting to play a part across the whole journey of FIFA has been a real highlight.

“Being involved from the very start, to then being pitch side at Eden Park as all that work came to fruition with all the facets of the huge, complex organisation that is FIFA, was amazing. There’s nothing like having 43,000 people watch your efforts in person and billions more on television! Especially as, of the nine games hosted at Eden Park, five had the biggest football attendance in New Zealand history.”

Jacob Oram – Sport Advancement Manager

After the Spanish team chose the Sport Institute as their Team Base Camp, Sport Advancement Manager Jacob Oram took on the role as Training Site Venue Coordinator, which meant being responsible for operationally leading the delivery of the training site.

Within this role, Mr Oram managed a team of volunteers and contractors while working alongside FIFA, Palmerston North City Council, the university and other external stakeholders to ensure the Sport Institute was presented and delivered in line with FIFA regulations and to the highest possible standard. He was also involved in other tasks including coordinating security on site, liaising with ground staff and facilitating catering.

Mr Oram says his two biggest highlights from this experience bookmark the tournament.

“The initial excitement as we prepared for Spain’s arrival, and the nervous anticipation of how they would enjoy our facilities here at Massey, is very memorable. Then for Spain to win the World Cup was great. While they’d departed from us two weeks prior, it’s awesome to be able to tell people that the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions had their team base training site in good old Palmerston North.”