Some interesting comments by Pragnell. And nice to hear NZF want to see a 2nd NZ AL (men & women) team. Got a much better chance of success if NZF are backing it, and if it does happen (2026 seems ambitious) then yes football in NZ really will be in rude health. The WWC next year, should see some more commercial sponsorship interest in NZ football occur. More again if the AWs did make it to Qatar.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/128902077/world-cup-windfall-would-help-nz-football-plot-an-ambitious-course-but-it-isnt-win-or-bust
The most ambitious item on Pragnell's wish list might take a little while longer. He says he wants there to be a professional Auckland-based club playing alongside the Phoenix in Australia's men's and women A-Leagues by the time the next men's World Cup rolls around: "Auckland expansion has to happen. I'd like to see that in place by 2026”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/128902077/world-cup-windfall-would-help-nz-football-plot-an-ambitious-course-but-it-isnt-win-or-bust
The most ambitious item on Pragnell's wish list might take a little while longer. He says he wants there to be a professional Auckland-based club playing alongside the Phoenix in Australia's men's and women A-Leagues by the time the next men's World Cup rolls around: "Auckland expansion has to happen. I'd like to see that in place by 2026”.
Professional football returning to New Zealand’s largest city – a market A-Leagues bosses want to tap into – would be as sure a sign as any that football is in a resoundingly healthy place. It would lead to a sustained increased in visibility for the game and while the failures of the Football Kingz and the New Zealand Knights earlier this century still sting, that the head of governing body has signalled it will get behind a fresh bid is a significant milestone.
Right now it stands as the height of NZ Football’s ambition under Pragnell, who initially didn’t want the job full-time. If an Auckland professional team comes to fruition, it will be a watershed moment, but the fact that it’s even being talked about says plenty.