Reconnecting New Zealand Football with its community has been the goal for Andrew Pragnell since he took over as the interim chief executive.
It’s also the reason why he's at the head of the table permanently now.
"National bodies don't sit in place to try and tell people on the ground day in and day out - telling them what to do doesn't work," Pragnell told 1 NEWS.
"I think going and listening and understanding the challenges they've got is the first thing you've got to do."
Pragnell came on as interim chief executive 10 months ago after Andy Martin abruptly quit in the wake of the Football Ferns’ independent review.
But he admits he never intended to make it permanent.
"My intention was to come and help out and fix some of the immediate problems but ultimately as Christmas passed I had a lot of stakeholders coming forward and asking me to stay involved in the game."
NZ Football president Johanna Wood said retaining Pragnell is big for the organisation.
"What we've got with Andrew is someone who's a critical thinker who can look at the big picture but can also connect with our people and I think that was the missing piece."
While Pragnell has already managed to make huge strides improving the women's game, he admits the men's is a different story.
"We have to get more games for the All Whites and ideally we'll play them in every window if we could," he said.
By the time attention turns to the All Whites' match against Ireland in November it will be over a year and a half since their last game.
"It's one of the challenges of operating nine operational teams and the cyclical nature of the business means we have to prioritise World Cups."
It’s a cycle he says he is embracing right now with his top priority currently being the Football Ferns who are just over two weeks out from their opening World Cup match against the Netherlands.
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