Francesco van Hattum (born 17 November 1958 in New Plymouth)[1] is a former New Zealand football player who was a goalkeeper during the country's first World Cup finals tournament in 1982.[2] His international career started in 1980, and he played a total of 41 times for his country including unofficial matches.[3]
Career
Van Hattum made his official All Whites debut in a 2–0 win over Fiji on 21 February 1980[4] and ended his international playing career with 28 A-international caps to his credit,[5] his final cap an appearance in a 1–2 loss to Australia on 2 November 1986.[4]
Controversially, van Hattum replaced Richard Wilson as goalkeeper for all three games at the finals tournament in Spain[6] despite Wilson's having played in all fifteen of New Zealand's qualifying matches.[7]
Serving as a director on the New Zealand Football Board, van Hattum stood for re-election at the AGM for an expected board shake-up and was elected chairman of the seven person board on 25 June 2008.[9][10] He also serves on the FIFA Associations Committee.[11] On 23 January 2014 Van Hattum announced his intention to step down as chairman at the February board meeting.[12]
^Deverill, Victor, Charles (1978). Central League Soccer, ten year history of Central Regional Soccer League 1968-1977. Puke Ariki, New Plymouth: Wellington, Central Region. pp. 1–175.