Three new life members and two honorary members of Northern Region Football were elected at our AGM, held at Birkenhead United clubrooms on Monday night. 

You can read the full list of NRF life and honorary members here - if you're on this list and haven't heard from us for a while we'd love to get in touch - let us know!

Life members 

Ivan Vuksich
Ivan has served as Central United and Auckland City chair from 1995 until today, with the men’s first team winning several National League titles, Chatham Cups and Oceania club championships in his time at the helm, with 2014’s bronze medal at the FIFA Club World Cup a standout.  

Ivan was part of FIFA's ‘World Club Taskforce’ in 2006 and 2007, set up to address common problems encountered by clubs throughout the world, and in 2012 served on FIFA's ‘Working Group for the International Match Calendar’ committee, that helped set FIFA's 2015-2022 international match calendar.

An NZF life member, Ivan has overseen the development and growth in Auckland City youth academy, futsal and youth teams as well as the development of Kiwitea Street’s ground and facilities.

Auckland City's Nick Downes accepts Ivan Vuksich's NRF life membership

Stuart Weir
Stuart has been the chairperson of the NRF Disciplinary Committee for over five years, and has served on the committee for over ten years.

As DC Chair, he’s often called upon to adjudicate on situations without the full committee, and has volunteered thousands of hours to manage a variety of incidents on and off field.

Stuart has attended many games without being asked, to simply observe the behaviour of teams or individuals where they might be a high risk of incidents.

His dedication, sensitivity and professional way he has led the committee means Stuart is respected by all who work with him in NRF, and the game is better for his leadership in this crucial part of our disciplinary process.

Stuart Weir accepts his NRF life membership

Terry McCahill
As a player, Terry represented Eden, Lynn Avon United and Avondale United and AFF, winning Northern Premier Women’s League and Auckland Women’s knockout cups and winning Auckland Sportswoman of the year and Player of the year multiple times each. She made her Football Ferns debut in 1991, earning 40 caps and scoring one goal.

She has continued her role as secretary for Lynn Avon and in turn had a big part of the club also serving as a delegate to NRF. Her experience and knowledge has been a huge resource for Lynn Avon, with a real passion for women’s football.

Terry McCahill's life membership is accepted by Cam Gray on behalf.  

 
Honorary members

Kevin Turnock
Kevin became a registered referee of Northern Football Federation in 2008 after completing a Level 1 Referee course.

He continued developing as a referee through to 2014 when he became a Level 1 Referee Instructor in 2013 and thus began a legacy of giving back to refereeing. Kevin held the position of Chair in three forms of Referee Committee's (NFF Referees Committee/Referee Leadership Group and NRF Referee Advisory Committee) up to late 2023, stepping aside only due to increased work commitments.

He also was a member of the NZ Football Referee's Committee between 2018 and 2022. Kevin has been an integral part of referee development and leadership for over 10 years and notably held Chair roles during the merger of AFF and NFF.

Kevin Turnock accepts his NRF honoary membership 

Ivy Vela
Ivy is the longest serving club secretary in Central United’s history and may well be one of the longest across all of Northern Region Football. This is her 29th consecutive year in this role after first being elected at the start of the 1997 season (having first joined the club’s committee in 1993). She has been conferred life membership of both Central United FC and Auckland City FC and has been previously honoured by the former Auckland Football Federation along with Sport Auckland for her services to the game.

One of our sport’s quiet achievers over the past three decades she has certainly left an indelible mark at Kiwitea Street as well as on our local football community. Many a coach, player, administrator and supporter has benefitted from Ivy’s guidance and cooperation over the years. Ivy will turn 82 this May and her enthusiasm, passion and commitment towards the game she loves is as strong as ever. 

Ivy Vela's NRF life membership is accepted by Ashleigh Taylor on behalf. 

Article added: Wednesday 28 May 2025