Latest news from Friends of Football
Top New Zealand club Auckland City have the chance to face European champions Chelsea in February. This follows the draw for the FIFA Club World Cup tournament to be played in the United Arab Emirates between February 3-12 next year. … Read More
Kale Herbert is to move back to the Wellington region to further his coaching development. After four years as head coach of Hamilton Wanderers, Herbert has been appointed head coach for Wairarapa United’s Central League squad for the next two … Read More
A stalwart of Waikato football, Matamata AFC’s Barry Simonsen, has died, aged 85. The Matamata Swifts have shared the following news with members and the wider football community: “VALE // Barry Simonsen “We are devastated to learn of the passing … Read More
The Wellington Phoenix are ready for their inaugural season in the Women’s A-League. The club has signed its first women’s squad – including two scholarship players – as head coach Gemma Lewis and assistant Natalie Lawrence prepare to go into … Read More
The All Whites’ latest international win – a 2-0 victory against The Gambia – has provided supporters with plenty of reasons to feel positive about the national side’s progress. Here’s five good reasons to be happy: Reason 1: The winning … Read More
Manukau United have appointed Rudy Mozr as their Technical Director and head coach for the club’s Northern League first-team “for 2022, and beyond”. Mozr joined the South Auckland club at the start of 2021, and took over the first team … Read More
Striker Chris Wood gets another chance to close in on the mantle of New Zealand’s most prolific goalscorer when the All Whites play two games in Dubai during the November international window. NZ Football have confirmed two matches for the … Read More
Football Ferns goalkeeper Erin Nayler has agreed to join Swedish club Umeå IK FF after leaving English club Reading. The 29-year-old ‘keeper will head to Sweden to compete in the 2022 Damallsvenskau season after Umeå’s promotion to the competition after … Read More
Departing Auckland United head coach Hiroshi Miyazawa has been unveiled as the new assistant coach for Indian Super League club Mumbai City. Head coach at Mumbai is Des Buckingham who worked with Miyazawa when the pair coached the New Zealand … Read More
Past and present supporters of Auckland club Papatoetoe have helped bring together a collection of photographs, match programmes and other memories from the 1980s. Under the title Papatoetoe AFC – 1980’s – The Glory Years, a Facebook group has become … Read More
The Wellington Phoenix have boosted their coaching resources for developing young players by appointing club legend Chris Greenacre as their Academy Head Coach. Greenacre (43) is currently the Phoenix Assistant Coach for its men’s A-League side and has accrued about … Read More
Restrictions to combat COVID-19 have forced the cancellation of the 2021 men’s and women’s National League Championships. New Zealand Football’s decision to can the competitions follows confirmation that Auckland and the Waikato will not be moving to alert levels where … Read More
World governing body FIFA have revealed the key dates that will set up the pathway required for New Zealand to reach next year’s World Cup finals in Qatar. Providing the All Whites qualify as the Oceania Confederation champions, they will … Read More
The All Whites’ next opponents, The Gambia, are targeting international friendlies to continue their rise in FIFA’s world rankings. By winning four of their last six matches since March, the African nation have moved from 172nd to 148th in FIFA’s … Read More
Former Wellington Phoenix and New Zealand U-23 coach Des Buckingham has taken his first session as the newly-appointed head coach of Indian Super League champions Mumbai City. Buckingham (36) had to complete a period of quarantine before joining Mumbai City’s … Read More
Former All White and New Zealand football Player of the Year Ian Ormond has died in Auckland, aged 72. Ormond was widely considered to be one of the best New Zealand players of his generation whose mercurial talent with the … Read More
New Zealand Football has reviewed its options for its men’s and women’s national league competitions and its two premium cup competitions in the wake of latest plans to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Following news that Auckland and the Waikato will … Read More
All Whites coach Danny Hay hopes to secure two more matches for his side in November’s international window so the players can build on their two wins in Bahrain. The November friendlies would help prepare the All Whites for the … Read More