Niche Cache. Primarily an article on the AWs, but finishes with some stuff on the Ferns.
Funny that folks used to complain that the Ferns was too much a closed shop, too many veterans being picked when they should have been replaced/dropped for younger talent.
Turns out that experienced core through the 2010s up to 2023, weren't that bad after all. The new wave coming through not any better (so far) and on average playing their club football at a lower level.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2026/7/9/how-can-the-all-whites-build-upon-their-2026-world-cup-efforts-moving-towards-2030
By the way, how much of this applies to the Football Ferns? Almost all of it... albeit with way fewer pro opportunities out there for female footballers, where even the top leagues often don’t pay particularly well. But our weaknesses right now are the same: a young-ish squad with very few players in peak club situations, a lack of top notch athletes, and not enough competitive games outside of World Cups and Olympics. The Ferns have been stuck in this spot for years, maybe even decades, being unable to solve the conundrum of being too good for Oceania and not good enough for the world.
Funny that folks used to complain that the Ferns was too much a closed shop, too many veterans being picked when they should have been replaced/dropped for younger talent.
Turns out that experienced core through the 2010s up to 2023, weren't that bad after all. The new wave coming through not any better (so far) and on average playing their club football at a lower level.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2026/7/9/how-can-the-all-whites-build-upon-their-2026-world-cup-efforts-moving-towards-2030
By the way, how much of this applies to the Football Ferns? Almost all of it... albeit with way fewer pro opportunities out there for female footballers, where even the top leagues often don’t pay particularly well. But our weaknesses right now are the same: a young-ish squad with very few players in peak club situations, a lack of top notch athletes, and not enough competitive games outside of World Cups and Olympics. The Ferns have been stuck in this spot for years, maybe even decades, being unable to solve the conundrum of being too good for Oceania and not good enough for the world.
On the positive side, the success of the Wellington Phoenix last year (and hopefully next year too) counts for plenty.
The introduction of an Auckland FC women’s team can’t come soon enough, although note that AFC is already running its Talent Development Centre on the women’s side. Opportunities are growing. Kiwis are being included in the expanding professionalism of women’s footy – this year alone we’ve seen players in England, Italy, France, Netherlands, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Vietnam, Austria, and Finland.
The Ferns have more players to choose from than ever before... what we need is more star players in those top leagues like we used to have. There was a solid run for about 15 years where we always had at least four or five players each season across the English WSL and American NWSL (usually with a few German Bundesliga options in there too)... until last year when we had zero WSL or NWSL players. The thing that the All Whites are searching for is the thing that the Football Ferns have lost.
The other hiccup here is that while the All Whites can plot a four-year plan... the Women’s World Cup is only twelve months away. New Zealand did win a game, as co-hosts, at the last World Cup with that legendary 1-0 victory against Norway. But they fell short of the knockouts and then didn’t do much with a tough draw at the subsequent Olympic Games. Have the Football Ferns spent the last three years seeking to learn the lessons of that 2023 World Cup to best prepare them for the next one? Hmm... not convinced. Twelve months out and the coach is still talking about building out squad depth while we continue to struggle to score goals and get decent results against top-40 ranked opponents. This will be a crucial transfer window with the likes of Kate Taylor, Katie Bowen, and Indi Riley looking for new clubs. Might have to be that, with a rebuilt and relatively inexperienced squad, we treat this as a five-year project for the Ferns which brings them back in alignment with the All Whites, given that the same three objectives apply: more competitive games, more top level pros, big emphasis on player development.
The introduction of an Auckland FC women’s team can’t come soon enough, although note that AFC is already running its Talent Development Centre on the women’s side. Opportunities are growing. Kiwis are being included in the expanding professionalism of women’s footy – this year alone we’ve seen players in England, Italy, France, Netherlands, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Vietnam, Austria, and Finland.
The Ferns have more players to choose from than ever before... what we need is more star players in those top leagues like we used to have. There was a solid run for about 15 years where we always had at least four or five players each season across the English WSL and American NWSL (usually with a few German Bundesliga options in there too)... until last year when we had zero WSL or NWSL players. The thing that the All Whites are searching for is the thing that the Football Ferns have lost.
The other hiccup here is that while the All Whites can plot a four-year plan... the Women’s World Cup is only twelve months away. New Zealand did win a game, as co-hosts, at the last World Cup with that legendary 1-0 victory against Norway. But they fell short of the knockouts and then didn’t do much with a tough draw at the subsequent Olympic Games. Have the Football Ferns spent the last three years seeking to learn the lessons of that 2023 World Cup to best prepare them for the next one? Hmm... not convinced. Twelve months out and the coach is still talking about building out squad depth while we continue to struggle to score goals and get decent results against top-40 ranked opponents. This will be a crucial transfer window with the likes of Kate Taylor, Katie Bowen, and Indi Riley looking for new clubs. Might have to be that, with a rebuilt and relatively inexperienced squad, we treat this as a five-year project for the Ferns which brings them back in alignment with the All Whites, given that the same three objectives apply: more competitive games, more top level pros, big emphasis on player development.