NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Sport / Football / Wellington Phoenix

Michael Burgess: Why the time is right for the new Auckland A League team

Michael Burgess
By Michael Burgess
Senior Sports Journalist·NZ Herald·
16 Mar, 2023 05:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
0Comments
Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The time is right for a new Auckland A-League team, though there are some critical factors for it to succeed. Photo / Photosport

The time is right for a new Auckland A-League team, though there are some critical factors for it to succeed. Photo / Photosport

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

OPINION:

The time is right for a new Auckland A-League team, though there are some critical factors for it to succeed.

The news on Wednesday that Auckland is one of two preferred locations for an expansion franchise from the 2024/25 season was long overdue.

Interested parties from this city have been petitioning and knocking on doors for years, though it has only become a realistic proposition since Football Australia handed over control of the league in 2020.

And now the way seems clear.

Keep up to date with the day's biggest stories

Sign up to our daily curated newsletter for the day's top stories straight to your inbox.
Please email me competitions, offers and other updates. You can stop these at any time.
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There will be naysayers – and Wednesday’s development provoked memories about the ill-fated Football Kingz and New Zealand Knights - but there is no chance of a repeat of those sad episodes.

Here are eight reasons why this could be different.

Financial backing

The venture will have money behind it – and it will need to. Whoever stumps up with the $20 million licence fee won’t quibble about the annual operating costs ($3-5 million), with commercial partners to help in that area.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Kingz and especially the Knights had constant cash flow problems, with the now legendary stories of last-minute cheques being written at the airport to ensure players could get to their next game. It was hand-to-mouth – and quite chaotic behind the scenes – which won’t be allowed to happen this time, especially as the A-League has a vested interest.

League structure

The A League has endured many incarnations over the years and the late 1990s and early 2000s was particularly fluid, with teams coming and going.

The old National Soccer League was almost broken by the final season of the Kingz, with financial issues, image and identity problems and deep-rooted factions. That seems to be a thing of the past, helped by owners with deeper pockets and a better strategic vision for the league.

Player development

There is no shortage of local talent, with New Zealand getting better at producing football stock.

The Phoenix have led the way, beside the various private academies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, along with other areas. This new team need to be built on a local core – like the Phoenix – and that is much more feasible now than two decades ago.

Recruitment riddle

When the Kingz and the Knights were sourcing football players, it was often on a hope or a prayer.

It was the early days of the internet, with much less analysis and information available. The Kingz churned through an incredible amount of personnel while the Knights signed plenty of duds.

Getting the right visa players remains a mix of art and science, but the Phoenix have shown it is possible to have a lot more hits and misses while the global supply has never been greater.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
The Football Kingz/NZ Knights were a branding disaster. Photo / Derek Flynn
The Football Kingz/NZ Knights were a branding disaster. Photo / Derek Flynn

Changing demographics

There is a latent appetite for professional football in this city. That has been helped by migration patterns, with 90 per cent of recent immigrants from countries where football is in the top two sports.

Participation rates have never been higher and crowd numbers for the All Whites and Phoenix in Auckland have been encouraging.

Sustaining that interest on a fortnightly basis will be a challenge, but the new team will have support from areas that the Blues and Warriors can’t reach.

Global football environment

The football landscape has changed significantly over the last two decades, with ambitious investors spreading their wings across continents.

That has led to vertical structures like City Football Group (12 clubs across the world, from Manchester City to Melbourne City) or Red Bull (four teams in Austria, United States, Germany and Brazil). An Italian family owns both Udinese and Watford and there are several American and Middle Eastern consortiums than run multiple clubs.

Sourcing overseas investment in an Auckland-based team won’t be the challenge it once was.

Derby dynamite

The prospect of three domestic derbies each season is a huge bonus. The best leagues are built on genuine rivalries and the competition between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory has been a cornerstone of the A-League.

There’s a template…

Over the last four or five years the Phoenix have evolved into one of the best A-League operations, in everything from player development and high performance to recruitment, fan engagement and commercial relations. That existing recipe will be vital for the new venture. There will also be inspiration gleaned from Auckland City FC, who have made giant strides on the world stage despite limited resources and a reliance on a volunteer base.

Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

0

Comments

Latest from Wellington Phoenix

Wellington Phoenix

Phoenix claim famous win over Wrexham

Wellington Phoenix

'Unexpected': Phoenix coach on facing Wrexham with underdone squad

Football

'Unexpected': Phoenix coach on facing Wrexham with underdone squad

Watch

Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Last-gasp Lions try sees Australia surrender test series in Melbourne
Rugby

Last-gasp Lions try sees Australia surrender test series in Melbourne

Lawson takes top-10 finish in Formula 1's Belgium sprint race
Formula 1

Lawson takes top-10 finish in Formula 1's Belgium sprint race

Fire crews extinguish blaze at smoke-logged Mitre 10 Westgate
New Zealand

Fire crews extinguish blaze at smoke-logged Mitre 10 Westgate

Auckland Lotto player wins $1m, Powerball jackpots to $12m
New Zealand

Auckland Lotto player wins $1m, Powerball jackpots to $12m

Black Caps meet South Africa in Twenty20 Tri-series final
Black Caps

Black Caps meet South Africa in Twenty20 Tri-series final

How a prison guard's phone favour for an inmate led to a brutal attack
Crime

How a prison guard's phone favour for an inmate led to a brutal attack



Latest from Wellington Phoenix

Phoenix claim famous win over Wrexham
Wellington Phoenix

Phoenix claim famous win over Wrexham

Luke Flowerdew's goal secured a 1-0 win for the hosts over the touring Welsh club.

19 Jul 06:57 AM
'Unexpected': Phoenix coach on facing Wrexham with underdone squad
Wellington Phoenix

'Unexpected': Phoenix coach on facing Wrexham with underdone squad

18 Jul 04:10 AM
'Unexpected': Phoenix coach on facing Wrexham with underdone squad
Football

'Unexpected': Phoenix coach on facing Wrexham with underdone squad

Watch
18 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search