The pitches are pristine. The grass is healthy, mowed into perfect bands and at the requisite 24mm. Banners line the streets leading to the stadiums while super-size images of players in action are plastered over bus stops.
“It’s starting to get real now,” says New Zealand midfielder Malia Steinmetz as she references a poster with her face on it.
New Zealand’s Football Ferns are excitedly counting down the days until the Women’s World Cup begins on 20 July but elsewhere some are questioning if the visibility, anticipation and excitement in New Zealand is enough.
“As a country that is very rugby mad, I am concerned we haven’t done enough to rally the troops, to get bums on seats and support these incredible female athletes,” says Holly Nixon, the former women’s development manager for football’s governing body in New Zealand. She’s worried that the majority of New Zealanders are oblivious to the scale, importance and quality of what’s coming.
Last week less than half of the 900,000 tickets available in the country had been sold. In an effort to boost attendance, a sponsor, Xero, is giving away 20,000 free tickets, while former prime minister Jacinda Ardern urged New Zealanders to “jump online and join in”.
The majority of ticket sales have occurred in Australia, the World Cup’s larger co-host. There, the national football team, the Matildas, are considered national darlings and enthusiasm is palpable.
Last month, to mark 25 days until the World Cup, the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed to traffic while 4,000 fans celebrated, marching with flags of the 32 competing nations flying. In New Zealand, nothing comparable has happened.
On Wednesday, New Zealand’s minister for sport took to national radio to tell New Zealanders to “pick up their game”. “It’s fair to say there are some games where we want to see more people there,” Grant Robertson said.
However, event organisers maintain that New Zealanders are always slow to buy tickets, and while hotels have not yet seen the expected booking numbers, tour companies are preparing for a busy two months.
Steinmetz, however, says that excitement is becoming clearer. “I think there’s a little hype starting up.”
The team is elated from a victory over Vietnam on Monday which broke a 10-game winless streak. From the field, Steinmetz says, new Ferns’ merchandise was visible in the crowd.
Her teammate Grace Jale says she’s experiencing more fandom than usual. She is receiving encouraging messages on social media, being asked for autographs after games. Occasionally, the team are given free coffees. “I think more people are jumping on the bandwagon,” she says.
The relative quiet in New Zealand can be explained by the fact that “football as a sport is a minority, so women’s football is a minority of a minority”, says women’s sport advocate Alice Soper. “ I don’t think that we here fully comprehend how big this thing is that’s coming. We’ve got a real underdog story with the Football Ferns. Ours is the story of a legacy of underfunding and mismanagement, which is the story of women’s sports.”
Building a football future
Holly Nixon was instrumental in the bid that secured New Zealand as a co-host alongside Australia. She says her motivation came from her experience of being a player. “As a Kiwi player, you never really get to play at home, you never get to play in front of your family and friends.”
Almost all of the Football Ferns play overseas, in Australia, Sweden, Finland, England, Scotland and the US.
“This will be the best thing of these players’ careers, and it will change the course of women’s football in this country,” says Nixon.
Jale, who normally plays in Australia, says it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. “My whole family’s going to be there … I hope they’ve got some sort of banner so I can spot them in a full crowd.”
Steinmetz, who lives in Sydney and plays for Western Sydney Wanderers, says: “Usually you’re just by yourself, you don’t have any family around.
“A lot of us have grown up not seeing football on our doorstep. I’m really excited to see how much this holds on in the country with the future young ones.”
A legacy plan has already been developed between the country’s six football federations, aiming to harness the impact of the tournament to promote the game for younger players.
In the lead-up to the tournament, the Football Ferns have been visiting schools and football clubs. In Auckland, Steinmetz and other players have been guest trainers and mentors. “We’ve had so many female role models or mentors come back and give back to the sport,” says children’s coach Haley Gleeson. “My girls all want to be Football Ferns.”
Last Sunday, with shin pads and mud on their legs, her team gathered on the edge of the grassy practice field to watch the Ferns play while their little fingers pointed at players who had visited them.
“They’ve all got tickets and even the parents are so pumped,” says Gleeson. “The win is for our girls to fall in love with football, to start recognising players, to be excited to watch them play, to have a New Zealand football poster on their wall.”
• This article was amended on 17 July 2023. Holly Nixon was the women’s development manager for football’s governing body in New Zealand, but she is not the current manager as previously stated.
