If you have never been to New Zealand, you won’t know how much Rugby dominates the landscape when it comes to sport. Football, soccer or whatever you want to call it, has always played second or even third fiddle to both Rugby Union and Rugby League.
Until as little as five months ago, the only New Zealand representative in the A-League was Wellington Phoenix, a team based on the southern tip of the North Island and almost 400 miles away from the most populated City.
That was before the expansion team Auckland FC was officially announced.
This is an incredibly exciting prospect for Aucklanders ahead of the upcoming season, and one that I will personally be keeping a close eye on.
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Who owns the team, and when did it get announced?
Fans of AFC Bournemouth in the UK will recognise the name Bill Foley. He’s the owner of the South Coast club in the Premier League and also has shares in French club FC Lorient and Scottish club Hibernian. Ali Ali Williams - an ex Rugby Union player - also co-owns the club, alongside Anna Mowbray.
The expansion was announced at the back end of 2023, with the men’s team competing in the 2024/25 A-League Division and a Women’s team competing a year later (2025/26).
“Building a championship team from expansion has been my most exhilarating professional achievement, and I aim to do the same for the fans of New Zealand and particularly the community on the North Island,” he said back in November 2023 to the Guardian in Jake Snape’s article.
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Where will they play?
NZ Warriors Rugby League fans will know all about where Auckland FC will play from - Mount Smart Stadium (commercially known as the Go Smart Stadium) - as that is the ground the Warriors play their home games in the NRL.
It is not uncommon for rugby and football teams to share grounds. For example, Hull City share with Hull FC, whilst Wigan Athletic share with Wigan Warriors, as do the Huddersfield teams.
If the atmosphere that’s created at NZ Warriors games is anything to go by, Mount Smart Stadium will be an intimidating and difficult place for the other 12 A-League teams to visit next year.
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Who have they signed?
The vast majority of players for Auckland FC are New Zealand nationals, as one might expect. Included in the squad, however, is goalkeeper Alex Paulsen. After playing for Wellington Phoenix for the last three seasons, he was bought by AFC Bournemouth and loaned out to Auckland FC for their inaugural season. This was hardly a surprise considering owner Foley’s ties to the South Coast Premier League side.
Still only 22, it will be a proud season for Paulsen as he hails from the City of Auckland and will be keen to add to his International caps after making his debut back in June.
In addition, the experienced former Japanese international Hiroki Sakai has also been signed from Urawa Red Diamonds, as well as Max Mata of Shrewsbury Town.
With Wellington Phoenix having lost out in the semi-finals of the A-League last season, Auckland FC will be looking to go one better and dislodge current champions Central Coast Mariners, who won the competition last season against Melbourne Victory.
It will be a huge challenge for the new expansion side, but an exciting prospect for the people of New Zealand and specifically Auckland residents as they look forward to making their mark in Australia’s top flight in 2024/25. It’ll be an exciting journey, whatever the outcome.
