The Football Ferns were forced to evacuate from the Pullman Hotel in Central Auckland.
The Football Ferns were forced to evacuate from the Pullman Hotel in Central Auckland.
New Zealand Football has boosted security around the Football Ferns after a fire at their Auckland hotel forced them to evacuate.
Team players and staff were evacuated from Pullman Hotel - their base for the Fifa Women’s World Cup - last night after a fire alarm was triggered.
NZ FootballCEO Andrew Pragnell said any instance where something like happens this is concerning, but the way New Zealand police have reacted has been incredible.
“The shooting and a hotel fire have no causal connection and are uncanny coincidences,” he said.
“However, with the support of Fifa, as an extra measure, we have increased security as well.”
The team and staff were taken in by the Onslow Hotel across the road and were able to stay there for several hours while the fire was being extinguished.
He said Fifa didn’t specifically ask for increased security. However, it has come from conversations with New Zealand Football.
Ferns left-back CJ Bott said it was a “devastating” situation and threw a spanner in the works, but everyone responded really appropriately and followed directions really well.
“We got to the fire exits and went down them quickly,” she said. “One was a little smokey, but we got out of the building quickly and are all perfectly healthy.”
“We got our sleep last night, hit the training field today and had a really good session.”
Fellow teammate Gabby Rennie echoed Bott’s sentiment about how well the team followed instructions and the help they received from security.
“I think our team is good at dealing with adversity, and it was another test for us.”
The Football Ferns made history on Thursday night when a 48th-minute Hannah Wilkinson goal meant the Football Ferns beat Norway 1-0 and marked their first victory at a World Cup.
The Football Ferns' Ali Riley talks to the team before the Fifa Women's World Cup match at Eden Park in Auckland on July 20, 2023. Photo / Lynne Cameron / www.photosport.nz
The team will play the Phillippines on Tuesday night in Wellington, where an impressive 30,000 tickets have been sold already for the match, which is set to kick off at 5.30pm.
According to Fifa, 39.2 per cent of New Zealanders tuned in across Sky TV and various free-to-air options for the opening 1-0 win over Norway, with the federation stating it was the highest TV audience for a football match in this country for more than 20 years.
That would put it above the All Whites’ second-leg victory over Bahrain in 2009 in Wellington, which booked the New Zealand men’s side their first World Cup appearance since 1982.
