Auckland FC Women (beg, borrow or steal)

Auckland aren’t expected to enter the ALW until 27/28, but the announcement of the new National League structure says they’ll have a Women’s Reserves team competing from March 2027.

They’re also pulling together an Invitational XI under coach Jenny Bindon for the upcoming friendly against Chelsea (Saturday 8 August). Full lineup not confirmed yet but partial info here and here.

Let the speculation begin.

Interesting line up so far. A few out of the box selections with the foreigners.
Particularly if you consider the NZ government is funding this game to some degree.

Yeah I was a bit surprised with some of the selections for this as Auckland FC said this on their website when the match was announced:

'bringing together a squad of top local and regional talent, assembled ahead of Auckland FC Women’s historic entry into the A-League Women’s in 2027. This is also likely to include players currently a part of Auckland FC’s Women’s Talent Development Centre, as a recognised Centre of Excellence and delivered in partnership with New Zealand Football.' 

I guess they never said specifically it was only going to be NZers in the squad, but you could be forgiven for thinking that it was going to be with that wording

I guess if the majority were kiwis from the Nix, everyone would be bitching and moaning however?