WEBVTT - What the All Whites' World Cup qualification means for NZ football 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:06.840 Yoda. 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:09.880 I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:18.040 daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald since nineteen thirty, 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.520 across twenty two editions of the FIFA Men's World Cup, 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:24.920 only two New Zealand teams have featured on the biggest 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:29.920 football stage, in nineteen eighty two and twenty ten. Now 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:35.199 there will be three four board and. 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:41.200 Chol's teammatee Head North America. Save it again and again 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.760 and savor every word. New Zealand are going to the 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:46.880 Football World Cup. 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.400 The All Whites have qualified for the twenty twenty six 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.279 FIFA World Cup after a three nail win over New 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.600 Caledonia in front of a home crowd at Eden Park. 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.920 After a successful job co hosting the women's tournament in 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:04.319 twenty twenty three and a strong run from new team 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:07.840 Auckland DEFC in the A League. What does the future 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:11.200 of football look like in New Zealand Today? On the 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:14.440 Front Page, News Talks That'd be host and keen football 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.560 fan Jason Pine is with us to talk about football 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:26.480 on and off the pitch. Piney, you got to commentate 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.600 this game. You were there at Eden Park for this 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.600 big moment. What was the atmosphere there like and what 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:33.880 was that moment like for you? 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.640 Atmosphere was great. It was for a Monday night in Auckland. 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:39.800 I thought the crowd was terrific, twenty five thousand turning 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.240 up there. Yes, it's a pretty special occasion when New 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.679 Zealand can, at the end of the game qualify for 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.040 a Football World Cup. That doesn't come along very often. 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.520 I have to say the atmosphere of the game changed 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.360 markedly during the first half and then I think a 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.640 lot of people were turning up to watch a comfortable 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:58.840 New Zealand victory. We got to halftime, it was still 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.040 mill all. After an hour, Chris Wood, our main man, 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:04.960 comes off injured, it's still nil all and the atmosphere 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:07.400 in the ground just started to ever so slightly changed. 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:09.560 But when the goal with the first goal went in, 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.760 just the relief in the elation mixed together was palpable. 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:15.640 Second goal goes in and then at the end when 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:17.720 they've qualified, it was really cool. So yeah, a great 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:18.720 occasion to be a part of. 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:21.519 I've heard actually from people and mates who have been 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:23.960 to the Auckland f C games in particular, but the 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:27.840 atmosphere is quite different to a rugby match. Is that right? 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.400 Absolutely? Yeah, it could not be could not be more 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:32.400 different really, I think you know, a lot of us 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:34.360 have been to rugby games. You know, we know we 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:36.800 are a big rugby country. We pride ourselves on that. 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:40.359 But often apart from a little bit of all blacks clap, clap, clap, 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:42.680 that's pretty much all there is at a football game. 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:47.320 There is NonStop chanting and singing and just they call 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.960 it active support, and that's really what it is. You 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.399 don't just sit there. You become part of the atmosphere. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.200 Auckland FC have definitely got it. The all Whites had 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:58.000 it last night. They call themselves white noise when it 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.000 comes to the all whites, So yeah, that just adds 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:01.600 the atmosphere. And I think when people are there who 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.640 aren't part of that active support, they feel fine about 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:06.880 also becoming a little bit more involved rather than just 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:08.720 sort of sitting there waiting for a try to happen 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:09.720 so they can cheer. 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:09.680 You know. 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:11.440 Yeah, and that's something that struck me as well. 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:13.440 Obviously, being in an Aussie and a South Aussie at that 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:15.640 I hadn't been too many rugby games, but I've been 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:17.800 to a lot of what we call footy matches, so 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:21.880 the AFL, and when I've gone to rugby matches here, 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.680 I was like, why is everyone quiet? When my dad 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.080 goes to a footy match, he comes home with no voice. 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:30.960 Yeah, it's quite different here. Maybe we're a bit more reserved. 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:33.600 I think, you know, we look, we get excited. It's 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:35.800 about rugby games. I've been at rugby games as I'm 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:38.240 sure you have, where you know there is high excitement. 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:40.880 I think the thing with football is that in rugby 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.200 tries are quite frequent. You know, you might have ten 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:45.320 or twelve in a game. Often in football there's only 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.360 one or two goals, and it's the explosion of joy 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.920 that accompanies those goals. I just love the roar of 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.040 the crowd. There's that little, almost split second of silence 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.640 as everybody holds their breath as a SHOT's being taken 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:58.480 or a ball is being played in, and then the 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:00.240 ball hits the back of the net and then there's 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:06.400 this spontaneous, simultaneous raw and I just love that sound. 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.080 It's one of the things I love most about football 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:11.880 is the reaction from the crowd when a goal is scored. 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.600 So yes, perhaps it's a rarity of goals compared to rugby, 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.360 where there are a lot of tries. But yeah, I 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:19.120 think it's also cultural. We like to be a bit 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:21.720 more understated here in New Zealand. 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:29.240 I have to tell my dad then, well, if Chris. 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:31.960 Ud congratulations have qualified for the World Cup. 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.440 I know there's some personal pain, but I imagine that pales 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:36.880 into significance to how. 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:37.400 You're feeling rain. 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:38.839 Yeah, definitely, it's fantastic. 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:40.479 This is what the country has been weighing for for 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:43.600 the last twelve years. I've heartbreaken things like that since 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.080 we've gone through Mexico. 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:46.359 Crew and our costra Ethia. 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:48.880 So it's come out on top this time around. It's fantastic. 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:54.720 So what does this mean for the all Whites to 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:56.880 qualify for the FIFA World Cup. 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.200 Well, I think every young boy or girl who grows 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.120 up playing sport wants to play at its pinnacle events 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.440 and for football as that is the World Cup. So 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.479 first things first, they will get the opportunity, this group 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:10.279 of young men and slightly older men to go to 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:13.240 the World Cup next year. They've earned automatic qualification. The 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.840 World Cup is widely regarded as the pinnacle certainly of football, 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.400 but also it's one of the big sporting events full 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.479 stop in the world. It creates profile, it puts the 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.880 game front and center of the consciousness of the not 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:29.200 just the sporting public, but the general public here and 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:31.160 as far as New Zealand football is concerned. It's a 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.400 financial windfall also because teams that make the World Cup 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:37.760 get quite a substantial payout from FIFA, which they can 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.719 then reinvest into the game at all levels, not just 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.000 into the elite sides. A lot of that money can 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.280 go to administering and managing the game at grassroots and 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:48.480 amateur levels, so and junior level of course as well. 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.400 So by two or three metrics, it's quite significant what's. 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:54.839 Happened in football in this country over the past fifteen 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.160 years to get us back to this moment. 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.080 I think the advent of a profession club and now 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:04.960 clubs plural has certainly helped the Wellington Phoenix, you know, 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.919 coming into existence in two thousand and seven, led I 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.200 think anyway directly to Kwards qualification in twenty ten. Yes, 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.240 it's been a little bit of time between drinks since then, 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.120 but if you look at the current squad, I think 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:17.640 this is as good a roster as we've ever had 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.520 players playing in good leagues around the world. Chris Wood 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:22.839 is playing in the Premier League, Libby CACACI in the 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.520 top flight in Italy, others playing in the United States 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:27.440 and other parts of Europe, up in Asia. Here in 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.920 New Zealand as well with Auckland ft C or Wellington Phoenix. 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:34.800 So the standard of our players has lifted immeasurably due 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.080 to more and more of them playing professionally. You know, 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.240 when they come together in the national side now they're 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:41.719 also not just there to make up the numbers anymore. 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:43.359 When they get to the World Cup next year, it 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:45.080 won't just be ohh wow, We're at the World Cup. 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.040 Isn't this great? It's like, no, we're here now. Our 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:48.960 job is to win football matches. So we're going to 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:50.760 try and win some games at the World Cup, not 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:51.760 just be at the World Cup. 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:54.360 Who are some of the star players that have contributed 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:56.240 to this. I mean Chris Wood that you mentioned is 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.440 obviously our big football star at the moment with his 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:01.400 record breaking success with Nottingham Forest Day. 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:04.240 Yep, he's the man and what a season he's having 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:07.240 in the Premier League. He's New Zealand's main man all 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:10.520 time leading goalscorer, closing in on all time leading appearance maker, 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:12.600 and just the leader of the side in more ways 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.520 than one. Yes, he wears the captain's armband, leads the 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:17.400 site out all of that, but just the way he 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.280 is around camp has to be so influential to some 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:21.960 of the younger players. They look at him, the way 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:25.800 he looks after himself, nutrition, exercise, recovery, and even the 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:27.720 way he deals with the media and with the fans. 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:29.800 And I think every other player says, well, okay, well, 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:31.760 if Chris Wood can sign autographs for an hour, then 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:34.400 I'm going to do that as well. He's the obvious one. 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.360 I mentioned Libby Cacaci, but of the younger cohort Marco 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:39.720 Staminich is a player I think who will go on 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:42.200 to be a terrific player for us. And there's a 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:44.520 young kid, youngest in the squad. Actually it's a name 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:46.960 to remember. His name is Tyler Binden. He started in 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.600 central defense last night and he, for me, is one 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:52.360 of the best talents I've seen for quite some time. 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:55.920 So there are a lot of them, and more to Carmen, 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:57.840 you know a lot of those players in the lead 0:07:57.920 --> 0:07:59.840 up to last night, talked about how they'd been in 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:02.920 the crowd watching the all whites qualifying in two thousand 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:06.000 and nine. I'm sure that there are young boys and 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.200 girls in that crowd at Eden Park last night who 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:11.800 will be sparked towards perhaps being one of the next 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:13.800 ones ten or fifteen years down the track. 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:15.720 Now it's not just the national level. 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.880 Hey, Auckland DEFC joined the current A League season last 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.400 year and they have just been killing it. They've won 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.360 twelve games out of twenty so far, the most of 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:25.520 any team in the league. 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.040 How have they pulled that off? Do you reckon? 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.240 What a great question. Yeah, I've been trying to work 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.400 that out all season myself. Actually, accommodation of things, good 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.559 recruitment is one. They've recruited some very good players. You're 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.400 about five overseas players in the A League, and all 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.600 five of their overseas players have, you know, have been hits. 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:46.000 Often you get the occasional miss, you know, you'll see 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:48.040 some footage of a player and think, well, he looks 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:49.240 like he's got a bit about him, and they turn 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:51.040 up and then nothing like that at all. All five 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.400 of auckland f season ports have been terrific they've recruited well. 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:56.360 The rest of the team are mainly Key Weeks and 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.640 I think that's helped in gaining a connection with the 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:01.680 fan base. So on the field, I think they're just 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.199 a very very good squad. But the way that they 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:08.400 have engaged the Auckland football community and made an Auckland 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:11.080 Left Sea game the place to be. We talked before 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:15.560 about the atmosphere at a ground. So many anecdotal examples 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:17.720 of people going to an Auckland Left Sea game for 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:19.680 the first time, going to a football game and go, man, 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:21.880 when's the next game? When can I come again? This 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:25.280 is amazing and so different from rugby. You know, the 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:28.920 Warriors have got their own atmosphere at a rugby league game. 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.000 They've really got something special going there. But for Auckland 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:34.840 Left Ce so early in their life to have already 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.280 just mobilized this incredible act of support is awesome. And yeah, 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.240 look they could make history. They could win the A 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:43.199 League in their very first season. No one's ever done 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.240 that apart from the first season of its existence, So yeah, 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:47.800 they're on track for something pretty special. 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.280 How does that compare to the Wellington Phoenix. I'm not 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:52.120 here to pick a fight with you about your favorite 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:56.840 team Piney, but historically they haven't been perhaps well, they've 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:00.000 been a bit underwhelming compared to the Australian teams. 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:01.760 I mean they've been there for eighteen years and never 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:05.320 won it, you know, and so you think to yourself, well, 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:07.319 what is it about this team that is that is 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.079 stopping them from you know, from finding success. And there 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.400 are a number of things which you know, we probably 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:14.800 don't have time to go into. Look I I yes, 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:17.319 I'm from Wellington, have watched the Phoenix since they came 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:19.440 into being in two thousand and seven. But I think 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:21.839 from a distance you can, you know, you can only 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:24.079 admire what Auckland f C have done and I think 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.200 what that'll do is make Wellington Phoenix lift their game. 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.439 They shouldn't need a local rival to do that. They should, 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.720 as you say, you know, be competing with the Australian 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:33.720 sides every year and they have you know, been in 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.120 the playoffs more often than not in the last five 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.920 or six years, but they've just been unable to take 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:42.000 that final step to a Grand Final and to winning 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:44.120 the things. So what it also does having Auckland f 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:47.880 C here is create a good environment for the players. Previously, 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:50.400 you know, a New Zealand player if the Wellington you know, 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:52.880 Welllington Phois was really their only destination if they wanted 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.840 to play professional football here. Now they've got two and 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.040 they can you know, push for perhaps better deal, better pay, 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.599 that sort of thing. So yeah, what I hope is 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:04.120 that Auckland FC will lift Wellington Phoenix as well. That 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.840 hasn't happened this year, but I think as the rivalry 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.240 goes on and intense effice, I hope anyway that Wellington 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:11.120 Phoenix will respond. 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:27.160 We saw football gain popularity, especially during the Women's World Cup. 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:29.439 I remember going back home to Adelaide and the Matilda's 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:34.119 were absolutely everywhere. Do you think we've kept up that momentum. 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:37.360 I'm not sure. I think you're right about the Matilda's 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:41.000 hottest ticket in Australia, you know, far more popular than 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:46.400 the soccer us, sold out stadiums wherever they go, and 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:49.679 what a case study in how to connect with a 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:53.400 fan base. Matilda's amazing football Ferns haven't had quite the 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.040 visibility here. In fact, they I think one of the 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.120 secrets of the Matilda's is they played at home a lot. 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:00.880 You know, they made an effort to bring those players back, 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:02.840 who are you know, playing in Europe and up in 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:04.880 the United States. But they said, no, we want to 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:08.000 keep this momentum going. We're going to bring players back regularly, 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.400 so they play at home half a dozen to ten 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:12.800 times a year. In the time since the twenty twenty 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:15.280 three World Cup, it's hard to, you know, to get 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.040 excited about any team, but the Football Ferns next game 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:21.280 is in Costa Rica. It's you know, it's it's you 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:23.640 can't meet the players, you can't get the selfies, you 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.680 can't get the autographs, you can't you see your your 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.520 heroes or your heroines. In this case, I think there 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.640 needs to be a greater focus pot on on getting 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:34.839 the Football Ferns back here because we've seen the last 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:37.560 week the all whites being here, big crowd in Wellington, 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:40.960 big crowd in Auckland's, lots of kids. Auckland FC. Look 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:44.240 that that place is full of kids on match day, 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:47.520 getting autographs, getting selfies, calling out to the players. They 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.400 know them by name, they're connecting to these players so 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.120 they see on TV and in person. I think if 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:56.280 the Football Ferns want to capitalize on yes, they didn't 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:57.840 have the tournament that Australia to do. But if they 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.160 want to capitalize on on women's football, they need to 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.040 have those players back here more often. 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.480 Football is obviously one of the world's biggest sports, but 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.480 a twenty twenty three national survey by A School, Sport 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.560 and Z found that football is the fifth biggest sport 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.719 with kids here, still a few thousand behind the likes 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:18.520 of netball, basketball, volleyball and rugby. Is it gaming popularity 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.600 do you think or do we need to do more 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.320 to get the kids playing the game. 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:25.080 I think it's still quite popular with say kids, I 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:28.240 think under twelves, let's say, before we reached the teenage years. 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:30.559 I think junior football is very big, you know. I 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:32.600 think it's a it's often sent as a safe option 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:34.839 for you know, you hear a lot about soccer mum's 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.400 you know, they don't want they don't want their kids 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:41.040 to be necessarily, you know, run over by much bigger 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:42.679 kids in a game of rugby. And I know there 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.000 are different levels of contact and that sort of thing. 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.040 I think football does okay at the junior level. It's 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:52.200 retaining those players at secondary school, I think, which is 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.040 a big one. We know that we know first fifteens 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.400 at secondary school are are a big thing. Our first 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.719 eleven's the same. Not sure what are they some of 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.800 the other sports you mentioned, you know, basketball is just 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.120 really taking off. I know my son's school. You know, 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:11.079 there are seven senior basketball teams and only two senior 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.440 football teams. I know there are fewer players, so you've 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:14.840 got to take that with a grain of salt. But 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:19.840 basketball is being picked up by more and more kids. Football, 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:22.360 on any sport, we're they're all in a battle for 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:26.320 relevance and for at the elite level, for cutting through 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.040 what is a very crowded marketplace. But at the junior 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.680 level and through teenage years, kids have got a lot 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:33.880 of options, and not just sport, you know, so you've 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.000 got to make it attractive as attractive as you can. 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:38.080 It's a work in progress. You just got to what 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:39.800 you think you've done it, you haven't. You got to 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:44.440 keep on doing it. 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:46.160 It was amazing, you know, it's not every day you 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:48.560 get to come back here and play in front of 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:50.640 this on team. I think how many people was it? 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:54.440 Five year? Twenty five thousand people turned out to watch 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:56.280 us play, and that's pretty special. You know, at home, 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:57.880 as well. Doesn't get bigger than. 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.840 That as looked like for your tailand with all the 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.560 expectation or what it's being expected to win tonight expected 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.240 to win quite comfortably. That it's quite a tribute scenario. 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.920 Yeah. I think that's football right. Every team's favored to 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.760 winning at one stage and some teams are the underdogs. 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:14.800 And today we went underdogs and we had to deal 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.240 with that pressure. Another day we might be the underdogs. 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.360 It's just dealing with that in the moment and then 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:20.280 coming through. 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.560 Do you think having more professional club teams like Auckland 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:29.320 f C and the Phoenix is going to help encourage 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:31.360 more teams? Could we be seeing I don't know, like 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:35.040 a Dunedin Dynamo's or something, or I don't know Hamilton 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:37.840 Panthers or I don't know, Well I'm not going to 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:38.240 name them. 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:39.960 No, no, no, no, well, thank goodness for that. 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:40.520 No. 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:43.640 There has been talk of a third A League team 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.720 from New Zealand, potentially in christ Church. I think that 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.200 would be it as far as the A League is concerned. 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:51.760 They are league are keen to expand. There are thirteen 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:53.480 teams at the moment. They're on record as saying they 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:55.680 want to get to sixteen or eighteen, you know, to 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:59.400 really flesh out their season, make it more attractive for broadcasters, 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:01.640 that sort of thing. And if you look at untapped markets, 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:03.680 there are a few in Australia. It's no team in Canberra, 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:05.880 for example, not a men's team anyway, there's a women's team, 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.320 no men's team in Canberra. That seems like an obvious 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:12.000 place some of the bigger places. Adelaide's a good example, 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.240 just the one team in Adelaide. There are two AFL 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.800 teams in Adelaide, So why shouldn't there be two football 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.120 teams in Adelaide. Christ Church I think would be a 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.440 welcome addition to the A League. I think Auckland, what 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:26.880 Auckland FC have done has proven that any doubt about 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.240 another New Zealand team was completely unfounded. In fact that 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:32.720 in many ways Auckland f C are the success story 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:34.440 on and off the pitch of the A League at 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.680 the moment. So I think, you know, if there was 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:38.760 to be a christ Church team coming or a team 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.920 based further south in Dunedin, you know christ Church appeals 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.000 because new stadium coming a bit more central as far 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.200 as the South Island is concerned, a bigger population, but yeah, 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:50.000 I would love to see it, and who knows. It 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:53.360 seemed fanciful a few years ago when they were trying 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:55.800 to kick Wellington Phoenix out. They didn't want any New 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.400 Zealand teams to now be talking about the possibility of three. 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.160 I think so far we've come now, Piney, I don't 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:05.280 want to rain on the All Whites parade, but New 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.920 Caledonia was ranked one hundred and fifty second in the world, 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.800 so it's perhaps not a huge surprise that the All 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.480 Whites won. Have they just cruised through the Oceania round 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:17.760 of the playoffs or do they actually stand a chance 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:19.040 of making it through. 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.720 First things first is New Zealan can only play what's 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:24.879 in front of them. They don't decide the drawer. They 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:27.240 don't say, okay, we're only going to play in Oceannia. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.880 That was that with an expanded World Cup of forty 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.639 eight teams. That was the format that was set up. 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:34.720 If you win Oceania, you go to the World Cup. 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:37.200 So that's nothing to do with them. They just play 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:39.440 what's in front of them. Absolutely, they will need to 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:41.320 lift their level at the World Cup next year. I mean, 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.640 for an hour last night, New Caledonia really tested them. 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.639 So you know, once we get to some actual footballing 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:49.560 superpowers who are up in the you know, the higher 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.760 echelons of the FIFA rankings, then absolutely they'll have to 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:55.159 lift their game. What they definitely need between now and 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:57.680 the World Cup next year is good games against good opposition. 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.120 New Zealan can only play games internetal windows, and there 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:04.320 are five of them left before the World Cup next year, 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:06.479 and you can play two games in each window, So 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:10.080 that's ten opportunities for New Zealand to play quality opposition, 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:13.160 spend time together as a team and get themselves ready 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.720 for the World Cup next year. Those ten matches have 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:17.920 to be well. First of all, they have to happen, 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:20.000 and I know there's planning going on behind the scenes. 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:23.400 There's already three games confirmed for this year in two 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:25.800 of the windows. But they simply have to have time 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.280 together against quality opposition because once they get to the 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:30.679 World Cup, Yeah, that is what they'll be there for. 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.439 They'll be there to not just make up the numbers, 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.600