Peter Haynes played with plenty of heart on the pitch and plans to bring a similar passion to his role as the newly appointed chief executive officer of Northern NSW Football (NNSWF).
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The 41-year-old has been doing the job in a caretaker capacity for the past four months, since David Eland stood down from the position after 13 years at the helm.
NNSWF confirmed on Friday that Haynes had been appointed to the role on a permanent basis for the next three years, starting May 1.
"First and foremost, it was humbling that the board put that faith in me originally through a challenging time for the organisation," Haynes told the Newcastle Herald.
"But I was really excited about the opportunity to help the sport make some real steps forward and to have a really good culture here internally within the organisation and, most importantly, re-establish some relationships with our members and start a more collaboratively conversation around the game.
"They were the big things that I wanted to achieve when I came in. I think I've made some really good steps towards that and the real work starts now.
"For the board to show that trust and faith in me to lead the organisation, but more broadly lead the sport in what is potentially the biggest year that we've had ever is really humbling but something that really excites me."
Haynes has been NNSWF's head of football development for the past four years and also served 10 years as the community football manager.
He was also one of the region's premier players. The lethal sharp-shooter made over 250 appearances for Broadmeadow Magic in NNSWF's top-tier competition, winning several grand finals and minor titles.
Haynes was the league's golden boot and player of the year multiple times and had a stint with the Newcastle Jets in 2008 and 2009.
"I'm really confident that I've got a good grasp on the challenges in the game, how the structure works, the relationships, where we need to go and how we need to do it," Haynes said.
NNSWF chair Mike Parsons said Haynes' appointment came after a robust search and recruitment process.
"Peter is a natural leader with enormous passion and knowledge of the game at many levels," Parsons said.
"Since December when he was appointed to the interim CEO role, Peter has engaged with a range of NNSWF stakeholders to listen and understand what they see as priorities for the sport in northern NSW.
"Peter will bring a fresh, innovative approach and is keen to lead the organisation to be the largest and most popular sport for females and males throughout northern NSW."
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