Academy’s Dylan Gardiner is off to the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup

RH3 Football Academy player Dylan Gardiner has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2023 FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup in Indonesia.

Central defender Gardiner (17) is one of 21 players who will play group games against Venezuela, Germany and Mexico as New Zealand seek to make the knockout stages of the tournament which runs from November 10 till December 2.

Gardiner has been part of the Ricki Herbert Football Academy since 2015, when he began attending coaching sessions in Taupo.

Supported by parents Sonia and Richard, Dylan Gardiner has made the most of his development through the academy, attending national camps and travelling with overseas tours.

After his start in Taupo, he spent two seasons playing for Cambridge FC’s federation youth teams in the WaiBOP Federation competitions, coached by Kale Herbert as part of a partnership agreement with the academy.

He then played two seasons with the Hamilton Wanderers’ youth team, again overseen by the academy and coached by Herbert and Joe Hinds.

In July 2022, Gardiner made his senior debut, playing for the Hamilton Wanderers first team.

Kale Herbert also coached Gardiner at St Paul’s Collegiate, Hamilton.

Congratulating Gardiner on his progress, RH3 founder Ricki Herbert said he was one of an academy intake of players born in 2005 and 2006 who have shown much promise as they make the transition from youth to senior football.

In January 2023, Gardiner captained the national U-17 squad that won the OFC U-17 Championship in Fiji, which earned New Zealand their qualification to the World Cup in Indonesia.