Midfielder Alex Rufer will captain the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League football competition this season.
Rufer, 25, is the first homegrown player to be appointed club captain in the Phoenix's history and just the fifth fulltime skipper after Ross Aloisi, Andrew Durante, Steven Taylor and Ulises Dávila.
The Palmerston-North raised midfielder is heading into his ninth season with the club, having made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2014 and has served as vice-captain the past two years.
Alex Rufer Photo: Photosport
Goalkeeper Oli Sail will be vice captain.
"I'm very, very proud. I've been here for a long time and it means a lot to me to be named captain," said Rufer.
He's also looking foward to leading the side with his former flatmate Sail.
"Oli and I have both been here for a long time and although in terms of leaders, 25 you could say that's quite young, but in terms of experience we've got a lot of it.
"We've been here together through a lot of ups and downs. We've faced some challenging times and also some very good times so I think we're well prepared and we're really looking forward to the challenge."
Coach Ufuk Talay said there were "a lot of in-depth meetings on who it would be and I think we've come to the right conclusion."
"Alex has been at the club for a long time. I think he knows the club's values and expectations and I think he understands quite well my expectations and values that we have within the group.
The Phoenix kick off their season against Macarthur FC in Sydney on Sunday night.
-RNZ
