The appointment of the former All Whites striker to the post was announced yesterday and he will begin work next month after signing off from the executive and also relinquishing his positions on the New Zealand Football board and FIFA World Cup Organising Committee.
OFC President David Chung says de Jong has had a significant impact on the development of the confederation and is saddened to be losing his services.
But he says de Jong leaves with the blessing of OFC and wishes him well in his future endeavours.
“On behalf of the Executive Committee, I would like to thank Fred for his contribution to the governance and development of football in both New Zealand and the wider Oceania region,” says President Chung, who has worked closely with de Jong throughout his involvement with OFC, firstly as a fellow Executive Committee member, then as Senior Vice President and President.
“His knowledge of football and passion for the game have been invaluable and we wish him all the best in his new role at New Zealand Football.”
The 48-year-old will be responsible for further developing all aspects of elite football in New Zealand and will oversee the progress of all international age-group and senior teams. His first task will be to develop a long-term high performance strategy.
De Jong represented New Zealand between 1984 and 1993 and also played professionally in the Netherlands for Fortuna Sittard. He had spells in the now-defunct Australian National Soccer League with Marconi Stallions and the Football Kingz and starred domestically for Mt Wellington and Central United.
Since retiring from playing, de Jong has become even more familiar to football fans as a television commentator and will continue in that role, commentating on A-League, OFC Champions League and international matches.
De Jong has also established a successful business career and is currently the general manager of StayinFront Asia-Pacific, a company that develops customer relationship management (CRM) software for multi-national companies worldwide.
He has served on the New Zealand Football board since 2002 and became a member of the OFC Executive Committee four years later.

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