CAPITAL FOOTBALL BOARD MEMBERS

Doctor Sola Freeman | Chair

Sola has over 20 years’ experience in governance. She was Chair of a Board of Trustees for nine years, was a member and then chair of Eastbourne Football Club, a member of Eastbourne Sports and Services Club Board, and has served six years on the Capital Football Board, and is current Board Chair.

Sola’s experience in education, community sport and business provides practical wisdom, strategic insight, and emotional intelligence when considering the organisation’s issues, allowing her to contribute positively to the strategic direction and integrity of any organisation she serves.

Sola is a compassionate challenger; an empathetic and approachable board member who cultivates trust, collaboration and cohesion among colleagues. She actively listens to explore diverse perspectives, examine assumptions, question and encourage robust dialogue, to ensure difficult decisions are made when needed.

Two of Sola’s four children played football, with both going through the Capital Football talent pathway. Her daughter played for Capital Football at age group level and the women’s team, as well as Wellington United Diamonds, helping them win the Central League and Kate Sheppard Cup and into the National League.

Sola has also coached and managed football teams, taking a group of Eastbourne girls to tournaments and managing the Capital Football women’s and under-18 teams.

Jason Pine | Deputy Chair

Jason’s background is in broadcasting, having worked in the media industry for over three decades, specifically radio and television. He hosts Weekend Sport on Newstalk ZB and is a match commentator for A-League matches on Sky Sport. He also writes regularly on football and other sporting matters.

Jason has a lifelong involvement in football, having first played for the Tawa club as a young boy and representing the club at junior, youth, senior and masters level. He also played National League football for Nelson Suburbs in the 1990’s. Jason coached his son through First Kicks and junior football and refereed both his son and daughter’s school matches.

Jason prides himself on building relationships and brings a collaborative approach to the board table, but also has a strong desire to put the game of football and its participants at the centre of all discussions and strategic decision-making. 

Jason lives in Porirua with his wife Bex.

Michael Deane

Michael brings a strong mix of legal, financial and project management experience to the board table, combined with a lifetime of football involvement in many areas.

Michael studied law and accounting at Victoria University and has worked as a lawyer both in New Zealand and the UK, for a French bank in the UK in energy and project finance, as a carpenter (he built his own house and still lives in it) and for the last 15 years as a construction manager. While living in London, he played cricket in Italy for five seasons and was named Best Non-Italian Cricketer by the Italian Cricket Federation.

Michael has played football since the age of 10 and still turns out for the Petone club. He introduced his two daughters to the game and coached them through First Kicks, secondary school and into senior football. He has served as a Girls Only co-ordinator for Wellington United, junior committee member, coach and manager of numerous junior, youth and senior teams and coached Wellington East Girls College for five years. In recent times, he has also taken up refereeing.

Carly Drury

Carly is an experienced leader with a strong background in human resources, organisational development, and leadership capability.

She brings deep expertise in building inclusive, values-driven workplaces and supporting teams to perform at their best.

As a member of the Capital Football Board, Carly applies her HR and governance experience to strengthen organisational culture, enhance leadership across the football community, and ensure the game remains safe, welcoming, and accessible for all.

Dean Eagar

Dean is deeply invested in football at club level.

He was part of the committee that amalgamated Porirua Viard and Mana United to become Western Suburbs in 1992, and has been Chairman for over a decade, taking the club from financial uncertainty to ongoing stability. In that time, Wests have won the Central League twice and made the 2018 Chatham Cup final. Dean drove the initiative to partner with Ole Football Academy, ensuring players were given the best chance to develop and through that strategy, earned financial benefits for Wests from players signing professionally.

Dean is a grassroots chairman, who fulfils every role at the club, from setting up pitches to keeping the club operational with a strong team around him. He still features in the club’s top Masters side, having played Central League football for Western Suburbs, Tawa and Mana United as player / coach. He is also the junior chair of the club and was named Sport Wellington Volunteer of the year in 2020.

Dean was part of the Capital Football Youth Review Panel to examine its youth structure, and has served on various NZF working groups including the National League structure and FIFA Club World Cup funds distribution group. He has also led New Zealand teams to Cambodia, Nepal and Fiji to build houses for homeless families as part of “Habitat for Humanity”.

Outside of football, Dean has built, operated and sold his own successful businesses.

Fazleen Ismail

Fazleen has over two decades of experience in the public service in New Zealand and the UK, as well as membership organisations. She brings a strong background in strategy, leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, stakeholder engagement and economics.

Fazleen has governance expertise both from sitting on the Wadestown School Board (2019-2022) and reporting to the Board as an executive leader at the New Zealand Law Society. She was named an Emerging Director in 2021 by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and the Superdiversity Institute. 

Fazleen is the parent of two teenagers who started playing football in Capital Football’s First Kicks programme at the age of five, and have progressed through to the Talent Development Programme and Central League.

Michael Leggat

Michael is a lawyer in private practice in Wellington and has been a member of our board since 2018.

He was a junior at what was then Cashmere Wanderers, but his more recent football involvement has been limited to 5-a-side and coaching of juniors. 

Michael has previously been Chair of Capital Football’s Disciplinary Committee and is currently a member of the NZ Football Disciplinary and Ethics Committee.

A lifetime supporter of West Ham, Michael has much experience of fortune hiding but frequently reminds supporters of other clubs that it was the Hammers who won England its only World Cup.

Vatau Sagaga

Vatau is a proud Wainuiomata local of Samoan heritage who first played junior football for the suburb's second club, Arakura, during the height of the All Whites’ Road to Spain World Cup campaign in 1982.

After 14 years working in Auckland and the UK, Vatau returned home and is a lawyer at the Department of Internal Affairs, bringing a strong legal background to the Capital Football board, mixed with a deep passion for community and governance.

Vatau leads the Ulalei Wainuiomata Sports Club, which has successfully promoted football within its Māori and Pasifika communities. It now runs annual football festivals which are attended by over 150 tamariki.  Ulalei also runs a summer football league for all Wainuiomata's primary schools, which has grown from 26 to 52 teams since its inception in 2023.  All of Ulalei's events are free to enter, promoting accessibility to sport.

Vatau is married to Mele with three tamaiti and is a long-time supporter of Southampton FC.