Steve Sumner
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Paul Sumner | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1955 | ||
| Place of birth | England | ||
| Date of death | 8 February 2017 (aged 61) | ||
| Place of death | New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Blackpool | |||
| Preston North End | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1980 | Christchurch United | 147 | (36) |
| 1981 | Newcastle United | 18 | (3) |
| 1982 | West Adelaide SC | 12 | (2) |
| 1983–1986 | Manurewa AFC | 66 | (29) |
| 1987 | Gisborne City | 25 | (6) |
| 1988–1989 | Christchurch United | ? | (?) |
| Total | 268 | (76) | |
| National team | |||
| 1976–1988 | New Zealand | 58 | (22) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Steven Paul "Steve" Sumner ONZM (2 April 1955 – 8 February 2017) was an English-born, New Zealand football player, who was captain of the national team during the country's first successful campaign to qualify for the World Cup, in 1982.
Sumner began his football as an apprentice at Blackpool before moving to New Zealand in 1973 to play for Christchurch United, winning the National League in his first year. Sumner went on to win 6 Chatham Cups and 5 league titles. He is the only player to have won six Chatham Cup winners medals.
His international career spanned from 1976 to 1988, including a record 105 appearances for New Zealand (beating the record previously held by Brian Turner), 58 of which were A-internationals.
An active and attacking midfielder, Sumner scored a national record six goals during New Zealand's 13–0 defeat of Fiji during the 1982 World Cup qualifying campaign. He was also one of New Zealand's only two scorers in the 1982 World Cup Finals tournament in Spain (along with Steve Wooddin), in New Zealand's 5–2 loss to Scotland. He was the first player of the FIFA Oceania zone to score in a World Cup.
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