Kris Bright (born 5 September 1986) is a retired New Zealand

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who is the current Sporting Director of New Zealand club

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

Career

Born in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

, New Zealand, the son of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

representative

Dave Bright David John Bright (born 29 November 1949 in England) is a former footballer who represented New Zealand gaining 8 A-international caps from 1979 to 1982. Born in England, Bright emigrated to New Zealand in 1974 and made his first appearance fo ...

. Bright started as a Semi-Professional with

Waitakere City Waitākere City was a territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitākere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. In 2010 the council was a ...

in 2004. Whilst with Waitakere, Bright was the 2004 top scorer in the

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier The Northern League is a semi-professional New Zealand association football competition. It is a top-tier competition during the winter season, and sits at step two overall. The Northern League includes football clubs located in the northern p ...

as a 17-year-old, and played in the club's 0–1 loss to

Miramar Rangers Miramar Rangers AFC is an amateur New Zealand association football club in the Wellington suburb of Miramar. The club is one of the most successful in New Zealand having won the Chatham Cup four times and the National League title twice. Over t ...

in the final of the 2004

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...

. Over one and half seasons with

, Bright scored a total of 29 goals. In mid-2005, Bright was named as one of three players in the

New Zealand Knights New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-League ...

' apprenticeship scheme. Shortly after the start of the season, though, Knights player Neil Emblen was forced onto the injured list, which would allow the club to sign Bright as a replacement for four weeks. Bright was rushed into the squad to play the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are a ...

, and produced a Man of the Match performance as he played the full 90 minutes on debut as the New Zealand side went down 1–3. Bright's performance in his first match earned praise from Knights manager

John Adshead John Adshead (born 27 March 1942) is an English-born former head coach of New Zealand's national football team—the All Whites—whom he led to their first FIFA World Cup appearance in the 1982 tournament. Life and work Adshead is one of the ...

, and he was rewarded with a starting place in the following match against the

Newcastle United Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Austral ...

. Bright appeared in the Knights's following four games up until Emblen's return from injury, but had done enough to retain his position in the squad, having signed another short-term contract, this time to cover for

Joshua Rose Joshua Liam "Josh" Rose (born 16 December 1981) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a left back for National Premier Leagues Northern NSW side Edgeworth. He previously featured in the A-League for New Zealand ...

. By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bright had made a total of 12 appearances, three from the substitutes bench. In mid-2006, Bright was asked to trial at Scottish side Kilmarnock, where he was for a month, playing three games and scoring two goals. Although he was not signed by Kilmarnock,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

club

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...

, invited Bright to a trial match against FC Geleen-Zuid where he scored one goal. Bright subsequently landed a one-year contract with the club, with the option of a further year. Bright managed to gain a spot in the starting line-up for the struggling Dutch side. He played in eleven league games, in which he scored one goal, against

HFC Haarlem HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889 and dissolved in 2010. The club won the Eredivisie in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912. Haarlem reached the second round of the 1982 ...

. After interest from Norway, he signed a six-month contract until the end of the Norwegian season with Norwegian club

Kristiansund BK Kristiansund BK is a Norwegian football club located in Kristiansund that currently plays in Eliteserien. The team plays its home matches in the 4,444-capacity Kristiansund Stadion. Kristiansund BK was formed in the autumn of 2003, when two riva ...

. There he scored an amazing 11 goals in eight games until his season was ended prematurely. With two games remaining in the season and several Norwegian Tippeligaen & Adeccoligaen clubs following his progress, Bright suffered a broken leg. Bright then renewed his contract with Kristiansund BK until January 2009. After six months of recovery, Bright then made his return in the 2008 season opener against Strindheim. He continued his goal scoring form with two goals including a 25-metre free-kick to help Kristiansund to a 3–1 win. After playing 12 games, he was top goal-scorer in the league with 10 goals. Also, in the 3rd round of the Norwegian Cup, Bright scored KBK's only goal against

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

club & close rivals

Molde F.K. Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional association football, football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was orig ...

in a 2–1 extra-time loss. After a season full of goals again in Norway, Bright had done enough to sign a -year contract with

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

side Panserraikos F.C., he was given the number 32 shirt. He left the Club in July 2009 by mutual consent with a year remaining on his contract due to unpaid wages, and joined English

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

on 3 August 2009. In November 2009, Bright scored the winner in a 2–1 win over

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...

in the

Shropshire Senior Cup The Shropshire Senior Cup is a county cup football competition that is open for professional and non-professional senior football teams in the English county of Shropshire. The competition is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world, and ...

final. He scored his first

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

goal against Lincoln City, then scored another on the final day of the season against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. He made a total of 26 league appearances in the 2009–10 season, including 22 from the bench, scoring three goals. After interest from Hungary earlier in the year, and with a new manager arriving at Shrewsbury Town, Bright then found himself signing a -year deal with former Hungarian giants Honved Budapest on a free transfer. Unfortunately at the end of the first season at the club, and with the club having huge financial difficulties and unable to pay full wages, Bright was to find a new club. On 3 October 2011 Bright joined Maltese club Balzan Youths on a short-term deal. Bright linked up Balzan until December before he made the move to Bryne FK in Norway in January. Bright accepted the offer of joining Balzan so that he could maintain his match fitness prior to the move to Bryne. The move was a success helping the recently promoted side to a top six finish scoring five crucial goals in 10 starts for the club. The 25-year-old had agreed a pre-contract with Bryne and joined up on 1 January 2012. After half a season in Bryne, Bright then found himself playing in an unaccustomed midfield role. With the team struggling in the league, limited opportunities as a striker, and offers from other teams, Bright signed a short-term deal on 2 August with FC Haka in the Finland Premier League. Bright cited his reasons for leaving were "to get regular playing time as a striker to score goals". In March 2013 Bright signed a deal with IFK Mariehamn in the Finland Premier League for the whole season 2013. On 8 March 2014, it was announced Bright had signed for Lincoln City for the rest of the season. On 10 November 2014, he signed for newly formed club

Bharat FC Bharat FC (also known as Kalyani Bharat FC) was an Indian professional football team based in Pune, Maharashtra that competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system. The team was founded on 26 August 2014 by Kalyani Gr ...

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

. On 27 January 2015, he scored the first goal for his club, netting a 14th-minute goal against Royal Wahingdoh. On 10 July 2015, he signed for

Bidvest Wits Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system. ...

of the

ABSA Premiership The South African Premier Division, officially referred to as the DStv Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is the premier men's professional football/soccer league and the highest division in the league system of South Africa, organized since ...

in South Africa. He scored and bagged an assist on debut for Bidvest Wits. On 23 August 2016, Bright signed for Northern Irish club Linfield on a one-year contract. After being sparingly used, he returned to New Zealand on 21 September 2017, signing for

International career

Bright has represented

at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-20 levels. He played in all of New Zealand's matches during their failed qualifying campaign for the

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, was the tenth edition of FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland between 13 and 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 1986 could particip ...

, scoring four goals, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 13–0 win over

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. In 2005, Bright was selected for the under-20 squad to compete in the OFC qualifying tournament for the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

, but again the country were unable to make the finals, finishing third in their group behind the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. His senior international debut for the

All whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

was a substitute appearance in 2008 for a

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifier against Fiji, and his first senior international goal was against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

on 28 March 2009. He was included in the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joh ...

squad, making a single appearance as a substitute against European champions,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He missed out on the final 23-man squad for the

, but was named as one of seven non-travelling reserves.

References

External links