Latest news from Friends of Football
Portugal have chosen Mangere United’s grounds and facilities as their training base for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The decision completes the allocation of 16 TBC (Team Base Camps) throughout New Zealand ahead of the tournament which starts on July … Read More
Wellington Phoenix head coach Ufuk Talay is being named as the likely successor to Tony Popovic at Melbourne Victory for next season’s men’s A-League campaign. FTBL writer Dave Lewis claims: Popovic is believed to have a job opportunity in Asia … Read More
Takapuna AFC members and supporters have farewelled club stalwart George Foster who has died in Auckland, aged 76. “Fozzer”, as he was widely known, arrived in New Zealand from his native Liverpool in 1985 and with football-playing sons Paul and … Read More
Senior All Whites squad members Chris Wood and Tommy Smith say interim head coach Darren Bazeley deserves his chance to show what he can do. Ahead of their two-match series against China, 49-cap defender Smith told Newshub: “Whether or not … 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
East Coast Bays have a new club president, with long-time volunteer Roger Bridge stepping into the role left vacant after the departure of Russell Fisher. Bridge (53) has filled almost every possible role at the club, including board member, club … Read More
Northern League’s Golden Boot winner Derek Tieku has re-joined Hamilton Wanderers after playing only 24 minutes of competitive football for Wellington Olympic. The 28-year-old striker transferred to Olympic ahead of this month’s two-legged OFC Champions League national play-off against Auckland … Read More
Sergio Sendra will make an emotional return to Northern League football this season after spending the past year undergoing treatment for cancer. The Hamilton Wanderers full back was diagnosed with cancer during the club’s 2022 pre-season programme. Sendra (27), who … Read More
OlyWhites defender George Stanger could be on the move again as Scottish Championship sides Dundee and Partick Thistle are reported to want to sign him. Stanger (22) has already played for seven Scottish clubs since starting his professional career with … Read More
All Whites striker Chris Wood says including the next generation of international players in training camps is “fantastic” and should be considered more often. The All Whites are training this week with the national U-22 squad ahead of the teams’ … Read More
Canterbury United Pride topped the women’s table while Auckland City men finished ahead of Capital Football on goal difference at the end of three days’ play in the Ford Futsal Superleague’s National Series 1. Here are the results from Monday’s … Read More
NZ Football have announced a second friendly game for the Football Ferns in next month’s international window with a fixture against Nigeria on Wednesday April 12 (NZT). Nigeria, rated 45th in the FIFA women’s world rankings, are preparing for the … Read More
Lotto NRFL Southern Conference side Te Awamutu have signed a group of young players from local rivals Cambridge. New coaches Anthony Meiklejohn and Joe Gifford — who moved to Te Awamutu from Cambridge — have been recruiting players from their … Read More
Former Football Fern Abbey Erceg has captained her new club side to a 3-1 victory against the United States national U-23 women’s team. Defender Erceg (33) was traded to National Women’s Soccer League club Racing Louisville in January, in a … Read More
The Football Ferns will play an international friendly against Iceland in Turkey during Easter Weekend. News of the match was announced by Football Iceland on their social media channels today (March 20) as fixtures were unveiled for the next FIFA … Read More
The FA Cup fairytale is over for Auckland-born goalkeeper Max Crocombe after his Grimsby Town side were crushed 5-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion. The result takes Brighton into a semi-final tie with Manchester United while Grimsby’s 5,000 travelling fans … Read More
An amazing fightback by Auckland City, a bad weekend for the Wellington Phoenix and a full-on programme of men’s and women’s futsal … that’s how the weekend was for our top footballers. Meanwhile, next week heralds the start of the … Read More
A new signing and a triallist were on the scoresheet for Mt Albert Ponsonby as they retained the Brian Stanyer Memorial Trophy with a 4-1 win against Central United. French import Nicolas Destaing (20), an academy player on exchange from … Read More