Stories and information about the heritage of football in New Zealand
The mystery disappearance of the long-lost ANZAC Soccer Ashes has been solved with the discovery of the trophy in the clean-out of a family’s garage during the COVID pandemic. The trophy was created in 1923 and was to be contested … Read More
Napier City Rovers have named a number of former All Whites in their all-star teams to play in the club’s 50th Anniversary Legends match at Easter Weekend. Members of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers goalkeeper Mark Paston and defender Ben … Read More
Cambridge FC have celebrated the club’s 75th Jubilee with a weekend of activities and a dinner beside the nearby Lake Karapiro. Over the weekend of March 24-25, 2023, members past and present gathered to renew friendships and share memories of … Read More
The New Zealand squad that faced China in a three-match series in 1975 contained only five players born in this country — an indication of how far the game has developed since. The series, played in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, … Read More
English broadcaster ITV is making a drama series about footballer Justin Fashanu — the first top-flight professional footballer to come out as gay — who ended his career with Wellington club Miramar Rangers. Fashanu became Britain’s first £1m black player … Read More
Here’s a photo to test the memory banks of some of our long-time football followers. Friends of Football have been loaned a copy of this team photo of the 1962 U-12 Auckland boys’ representative team. The names and spellings are … Read More
Fifty years ago, New Zealand faced a crucial hurdle in their efforts to reach the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany when they hosted Australia in a qualifying game at Auckland’s Newmarket Park. Australia were favourites to win a … Read More
Forty years ago this week, New Zealand’s All Whites achieved a double success against their arch-rivals, the Australian Socceroos. In a two-match series, New Zealand beat the Australians 2-1 in Auckland and then 2-0 in the return fixture in Melbourne. … Read More
Friends of Football have been building an online archive of classic match programmes and football publications of interest to New Zealand fans of the game. We’re converting printed publications to a digital format, enabling fans of all ages to appreciate … Read More
In February 1992, New Zealand’s All Whites celebrated a 1-0 win against Scottish giants Celtic in a game that prompted plenty of off-field controversy. Chris Zoricich, then playing for English club Leyton Orient, scored the only goal of the game … Read More