Former Football Fern Sarah Gregorius has been promoted at FIFPRO, the global players’ union, to a new role as Director Global Policy & Strategic Relations - Women’s Football.

The centurion, who is also second on the Football Ferns and New Zealand Football all-time goalscorer list with 34 goals (behind former longtime teammate Amber Hearn), joined FIFPRO in 2019. She became a policy and strategy officer after being approached by the organization towards the end of that year’s Women’s World Cup.

Long a staunch advocate for her fellow players, Gregorius previously served on the board of the New Zealand Professional Footballers Association. She was a key negotiator for the groundbreaking 2018 collective bargaining agreement between New Zealand Football and the NZPFA. It was the first in New Zealand Football history to be a single CBA for both New Zealand Football’s senior women’s and men’s teams, and offer pay parity, equal prize money, equal rights for image use and, most notably, parity across travel while representing New Zealand.

In the years since this landmark agreement other national governing bodies have followed suit with their CBAs following the same principles of equality.

Gregorius retired from the Football Ferns (for the second time) in March 2020, following their defeat of Belgium at the Algarve Cup. She won her 100th cap in that game, and has played at three World Cups and two Olympic Games.

Article added: Friday 07 May 2021