Former New Zealand international Mal Bland — a leading goalscorer in the early days of national league football — has died in Australia, aged 75.
Bland played national league football for Gisborne City and Eastern Suburbs in the early 1970s, and his performances earned him selection to the national team.
He played 16 full international matches and scored two goals for New Zealand.
He moved to Australia in the mid-1970s, where he built a career as a Queensland State coach, and coached clubs to cup and league success.
Long-time friend and New Zealand teammate Max Davis remembered Bland as a talented footballer who was admired by many in the game for “being a good guy” and always willing to help those around him.
“We were like brothers,” Davis said.
The pair met when the teenage Bland arrived in New Zealand in the late 1960s to join Gisborne City, after spells as a youth player with English clubs Liverpool and Crewe Alexandra.
Born in Newcastle, Bland moved into the Davis family home in Gisborne where he and Max Davis became clubmates as their club competed in the fledgling national league, then known as the Rothmans Soccer League.
Bland played nine games for Gisborne, scoring five goals, before he moved to Auckland to join 1971 national champions Eastern Suburbs.
He scored 27 goals in 48 games for Suburbs, and quickly became part of the Auckland rep side that played visiting overseas clubs, followed by national team selection.
He was in the New Zealand squad for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 1973.
Bland tried his luck again in England, having a short spell at Bournemouth who had toured New Zealand in 1973.
He and his wife Margaret — they met in Gisborne — moved to Brisbane in 1975 where he played four seasons with Merton East, two as player-coach.
Coincidentally, that club became known as Eastern Suburbs in 1980.
He retired as a player in 1980, having joined Brisbane’s Mt Gravatt Hawks and taken to coaching.
In a tribute to Bland, the Mt Gravatt Hawks said: “Mal was deeply loved and admired by so many at Hawks FC. He was more than just a member of our community — he was a friend, coach and mentor who touched countless lives.
“Mal was an exceptional footballer, having represented New Zealand, and an even better coach and mentor.
“As a coach and technical director with Hawks for many years, his impact on our club was immense.”
Bland died after a lengthy illness and leaves Margaret and their sons Stephen and Joel.
Malcolm (Mal) Bland (1949 — 2024)
Obituaries
Through the publication of obituaries, Friends of Football tries to recognise the loss of those who have significantly contributed to our game.
