{"id":663035,"date":"2026-05-11T03:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T03:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/663035\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T03:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T03:05:09","slug":"new-ceo-appointed-at-new-zealand-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/663035\/","title":{"rendered":"New CEO appointed at New Zealand Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/382be2_f77210b6889d4271aa38ba158f5840f5~mv2.jpg\" alt=\"Andrea Nelson takes on the role of NZ Rugby League CEO PHOTO: NZRL PROVIDED\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%;max-width:100%;position:absolute;left:0;top:0\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/www.nzsportswire.com\/post\/new-ceo-appointed-at-new-zealand-rugby-league\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/382be2_f77210b6889d4271aa38ba158f5840f5~mv2.jpg\/v1\/fill\/w_1200,h_675,al_c,q_85\/382be2_f77210b6889d4271aa38ba158f5840f5~mv2.jpg\" draggable=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Andrea Nelson takes on the role of NZ Rugby League CEO PHOTO: NZRL PROVIDED<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-r8bd62133\">New Zealand Rugby League has confirmed the appointment of Andrea Nelson MNZM as its new Chief Executive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-cwxn81788\">Nelson has over two decades of senior leadership experience across national and international sport, major global events, governance and commercial strategy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-i8t3p1793\">Her appointment comes at a time of significant momentum for rugby league in New Zealand \u2013 from record participation growth and expanding pathways for w\u0101hine and rangatahi, through to packed stadiums, growing broadcast audiences and continued success on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-vs7dm1798\">Nelsona has led major international sporting events &#8211; as NZ General Manager for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and helped lead the delivery and commercial development of the Oceania Cup, the precursor to the Pacific Championships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-577wy1804\">She also held senior leadership roles across some of the world\u2019s largest sporting organisations and events, including the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, FIFA U20 World Cup, ICC Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup, Chair NZ Events Association and CEO Gymnastics New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-8bz0a1810\">New Zealand will head into this year\u2019s Rugby League World Cup campaign with the Kiwis, Kiwi Ferns and Wheel Kiwis teams all strongly positioned on the world stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-7fi641813\">Nelson said returning to rugby league felt like a natural homecoming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-jo6ld1819\">\u201cI\u2019m thrilled and honoured to be entrusted with the role of Chief Executive of NZRL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-a1dmu1822\">\u201cBeing part of delivering the 2017 Rugby League World Cup in Aotearoa was a career highlight. While I\u2019ve continued to work across sport since then, rugby league has always held a special place for me, so this in many ways feels like a homecoming,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-2pedg1828\">\u201cI am a huge believer in the power of sport to change lives for the better, and that sits at the heart of rugby league\u2019s \u2018More Than a Game\u2019 kaupapa. Rugby league\u2019s greatest strength has always been, and always will be, its people, and I look forward to working together to shape the future of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"-Q4aO hw1z8 DcaPr o-zp-\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-3l99y1834\">The appointment follows a sustained period of growth and transformation for rugby league in New Zealand under the leadership of exiting CEO, Greg Peters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrea Nelson takes on the role of NZ Rugby League CEO PHOTO: NZRL PROVIDED New Zealand Rugby League&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-663035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}