By Grigor Griffin With Melville now back in national league ranks for the first time in 24 years, it’s perhaps a fitting time to take a deep dive down Memory Lane, back to the days of the 1997-98 National Soccer … Read More
To readers of Friends of Football’s website, he’s Jonno Ross, the guy who writes about Northern League and the Lotto NRFL. He’s one of our volunteer writers whose passion for football comes through in everything he writes. Now, for once, … Read More
By Joan Grey Imagine it’s 1975. You’re in Hong Kong, about to walk onto the football pitch to face the host nation in front of a home crowd anticipating your defeat. You’re the underdog. You haven’t ever played in an … Read More
By Joan Grey Rising New Zealand football stars such as Joe Bell and Daisy Cleverley have launched their international careers after playing college football in the United States. This pathway is becoming increasingly common for young New Zealanders wanting to … Read More
For 20-year-old Graham Dacombe, it was the greatest game of football he ever played — four goals in a Chatham Cup final, a match the newspaper headlines later billed as ‘Dacombe’s epic cup final’. It was the classic 1972 Chatham … Read More
Friends of Football invites applications to its Helping Hand fund to support football-related projects that benefit the sport in an innovative way. The fund has a total of $20,000 available to support suitable projects, and applications are sought by August … Read More
Manurewa have joined the Friends of Football’s club partnership scheme to help promote our sport in our region. Rewa, who play in the Lotto NRFL first division, join our list of partner clubs that now includes Mt Albert Ponsonby, Birkenhead … Read More
The number of qualifying nations is growing for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted in New Zealand and Australia. Australia and New Zealand will be there as host nations, while 20 more have been confirmed through onfield … Read More
It took more than 55 years but the part-time footballers who took on the might of Manchester United in 1967 were finally together again … Surviving members of the Auckland and New Zealand squads gathered at Auckland United’s clubrooms at … Read More
In May 1967, George Lamont scored the goal of his life. Playing in front of 26,000 at Auckland’s Carlaw Park, the 23-year-old forward struck his shot past Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney. He leaped into the air, waving his arm … Read More