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 lea ...

who is the current sporting director of New Zealand club

Auckland City Auckland City () was a territorial authority area 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 Au ...

Career

Born in

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

, New Zealand, the son of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in th ...

representative Dave Bright. Bright started as a Semi-Professional with

Waitakere City Waitakere City was a Territorial Authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitakere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest ...

in 2004. Whilst with Waitakere, Bright was the 2004 top scorer in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier as a 17-year-old, and played in the club's 0–1 loss to

Miramar Rangers Miramar Rangers AFC is a 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 the last ...

in the final of the 2004

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, 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 Wellington Olymp ...

. Over 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 Mar ...

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 Australi ...

. 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 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 Knights, Cent ...

. 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 or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

club

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; ) is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was establi ...

, 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 professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

club & close rivals Molde F.K. 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 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

side

Panserraikos F.C. Panserraikos Football Club (), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and well-supported clubs in northern G ...

, 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 side

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

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 F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

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 association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

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 , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

. 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 with 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 of 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 the newly formed club

Bharat FC Bharat Football Club (also known as Kalyani Bharat Football Club) was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. Founded in 2014, the club usually competed in I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system. The t ...

of the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

. 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 Premiership the first-tier of South African league football system. It was ni ...

of the ABSA Premiership 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 Cup, FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland from 13 to 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 19 ...

, 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 Wick ...

in a 13–0 win over

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. 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, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and

Fiji Fiji, 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 of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. His senior international debut for the

All whites The New Zealand men's national football team () represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football (NZF), which is currently a memb ...

was a substitute appearance in 2008 for a

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

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

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

on 28 March 2009. He was included in the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, 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 ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

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

References

External links