To our bronze medal-winning, history-making, nation-inspiring Young Ferns, What you have achieved in Uruguay may not yet feel real to you. But the joy and excitement you created in New Zealand over the past month is tangible. Your success was beyond any of our dreams, but now, following your path […]
In a small stadium in Colonia, Uruguay, 21 Young Football Ferns and their coaches danced in a circle, yelling at full voice: “What team? One team! One team, New Zealand!” In the evening sun, you could see tears on Aneka Mittendorff’s face as she led the chant. You could also […]
Coastal Spirit U-19 Tournament Labour WeekendChristchurch I’ve volunteered at the U-19 Tournament (hosted by Coastal Spirit FC in Christchurch) for most of the ten Labour Weekends since the Tournament’s inception in 2008. The tournament was originally designed to give South Island clubs an alternative to the costs and logistics of […]
At 4.15pm this Saturday the New Zealand football team kick off their hugely important FIFA World Cup qualifier against Peru. Every kiwi football fan will be totally focused on this game. Some of us will be there. Others will be watching on telly. Can I ask a special favour please? […]
Women’s football in New Zealand is undoubtedly in a period of flux. Everyone involved in it is currently working towards any and all measures aimed at developing and improving the women’s game in this country. From first kicks to the Ferns, changes are afoot. It is a fascinating time to […]
A reader contacted me yesterday to alert me to this piece in the Franklin and North Waikato Post. It’s about a talented young footballer from Waiuku, by the name of Jake McCoy, who appears to have a bright future ahead of him! The reader was keen to point out that […]
High school can be busy, especially when you add a few football teams into the mix. Sometimes, during the winter season, I find myself standing on a field in the driving rain at training when I know I have a pile of revision awaiting me at home. Sometimes, I do […]
This time of year, for a high school student, can be a bit of a whirlwind. As a footballer, that means that the end of my season and any reflections I have on it tend to get caught up in a haze of internal assessments, prizegivings and exams. However, in […]
I didn’t really have any affiliation to a club as a kid. Definitely not of the round ball variety. So I wasn’t exposed to the excitement and joy that is a junior football tournament. This weekend I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Douglas Villa Junior Tournament. I have […]
It is truly phenomenal how fast 5 days can fly past you, especially when said 5 days is filled with 8 football matches. This year, for the first time in an undocumented amount of years, my school’s First XI girls team competed in a satellite tournament for winter tournament week. […]