Rare Innovation is proud to back a historic moment for Golden Bay Football Club

A historic appointment. A serious football vision. A big moment for the Bay.

Rare Innovation is so ultra-proud to stand alongside Golden Bay Football Club in celebrating a landmark moment for football in the Bay — the appointment of Rob Anderson as the club’s first-ever Director of Football.

This is not just another title. It is not just another season. And it is certainly not just another committee move. This is a meaningful investment in pathways, real player development, coaching quality, grounded values based club culture, and the long-term future of football in Golden Bay.

At Rare, we only back real initiatives, involving real people doing real things and that create real community outcomes. The appointment of Rob, alongside the leadership of Club President Chris Thurston and the experience of ultra epic Gary Calderbank – 1^st Team Coach - represents exactly that - a rare alignment of football pedigree, local passion, and practical commitment to building something that lasts. That's Rare!

Rob Anderson, forged on the anvil of plain-English life too - is also as solid as they come; brings exceptional depth and values to this new role. With thirty years of coaching experience, Rob has worked with Brentford FC and Watford FC in the UK, coached in Sweden at the Gothia Cup, and worked across Hawaii, Atlanta, California and Nevada. In New Zealand, he has coached at NZ National Academies and served as Head Coach of the Tasman United Youth Team competing in the National League. School football remains one of his great passions, fitting naturally with his role as a PE Teacher at Nelson College, where he has coached the 1st XI and consistently guided the side to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Premier Tournament.

Further, he is currently completing his OFC A Licence and is also working with the New Zealand U16 Secondary Schools International Representative team as Assistant Coach ahead of their July 2026 campaign against Malaysia. And, backed by some silky skills on paddock, in Rob, that is not small-time experience. That is serious football firepower substance.

And now, Golden Bay AFC gets the benefit of it.

Thus, Rob’s appointment signals intent - to build a proper football development environment in Golden Bay — one that supports the creation of a club curriculum, strengthens coach education, sharpens advanced training programmes, and establishes clearer pathways for players at every stage of their journey.

Alongside Rob stands Gary Calderbank, Head Coach of the Golden Bay Mountain Goats, whose contribution to football across the top of the South has been immense. With more than two decades of coaching experience, Gary has dedicated himself to developing local players across grassroots, youth, senior, representative and elite environments. His past roles include Director of Football at FC Nelson, Assistant Coach of Tasman United U18, Head Coach of FC Nelson Development, and coach across various representative squads. Gary combines football intelligence, player development knowledge, and lived experience of the game in both the UK and New Zealand. Quite simply, he knows what building football really and properly looks like; and can turn out a decent shimmy-shimmy or two himself when needed.

And critically, this all sits within the vision and stewardship of Chris Thurston — Golden Bay local, lifelong football man, club president, and one of the key enablers, with a great team behind him, and this next phase. Chris, who is one of those class acts on the paddock himself, understands both the roots and the future of the club. From the early days of humble local football, through representative and international football experiences, to leadership across regional football working groups, he brings the kind of grounded, long-horizon perspective community clubs need. He knows football matters not just because of what happens on the pitch -  but because of what it builds around it: belonging, resilience, aspiration, confidence, personal growth, identity, values and opportunity.

That is why Rare Innovation is backing this.

Because this is what meaningful sponsorship should look like. Not a logo slapped on a fence, for a sign on a fencepost and a handshake for a photo. Actual support. Actual structure. Actual co-constructed engagement. Actual real, human, people-based outcomes.

Through its sponsorship of Golden Bay AFC, Rare Innovation commits to supporting -

• the creation of a football club curriculum, coach education and advanced training programme

• signage at the Rec Park

• a collaborative device promotion initiative, where a percentage of sales can flow back to the club through club-member purchases or introductions

• support for the Battle for the Bay tournament with so much alignment on those issues – its hard to put into words – and with a touch of merchandise

• and, for those into a touch of comedy, a helping hand on the pitch when availability demands it. ;-)

There is no superficial nonsense or puffery here - this is what we call, at Rare, total "good ju ju" community investment, backing real people, doing real stuff, with real sporting and people-betterment intent for real outcomes and real futures.

Accordingly, from Rare Innovation’s perspective, the combination of Rob Anderson, Gary Calderbank and Chris Thurston is something so special and already having a refreshing impact at GBAFC.

Together, they bring positivity, culture, much needed inter-player respect, international experience, regional credibility, local loyalty, player development insight, coaching leadership, integrity, real human-values, and a genuine care for what football can become in Golden Bay.

This trio, backed by the behind scenes GBAFC Committee and team, has the potential to be pivotal to the club’s success — not just in wins and results, but in building a stronger football culture, better coaches, better pathways, and better outcomes for players and families across the Bay.

This is the beginning of something important. And Rare Innovation is proud to help contribute.

Golden Bay football has always had ambition. However, now it has even more firepower behind it.