It was a promising night in downtown Auckland, where bars lining the waterfront filled with fans to watch the Women’s World Cup. At the Right Track, a sports bar, large screens covered the walls, broadcasting the group decider between New Zealand and Switzerland taking place in Dunedin (Ōtepoti), a picturesque city in the South Island. Tickets to the match had sold out, with a crowd of 26,000 – equivalent to a fifth of the city’s population – slated to watch. It was a match the Ferns needed to win.
Despite a loss to the Philippines last week, fans in the bar were optimistic about the team’s chances. Bhoomi P was a recent convert after the Ferns’ historic victory over Norway, while Petr Klouceck, from the Czech Republic, who has lived in New Zealand for a year and was wrapped in the country’s flag, “became a fan of New Zealand straight away”. The pair each had a stake in the outcome: NZ$40 apiece on 2-1 or 1-0 to New Zealand, equivalent to a dinner date, Klouceck said.
