Football Ferns kick off in South Korea friendly ahead of World Cup

Meikayla Moore of New Zealand celebrates her goal with Ali Riley of New Zealand. Photo / Photosport

As the FIFA Women’s World Cup draws near, Christchurch football fans are streaming to Orangetheory Stadium for the chance to watch their country’s final preparations - in a friendly against South Korea.

It’s the only time Christchurch will be able to watch the Football Ferns before or during the tournament, as no matches will be taking place in the Garden City.

The friendly kicks off at 2.30pm today, and South Korea will hope to provide the Ferns with competition after finishing bottom of their group during the 2019 tournament.

Canterbury footballer, Meikayla Moore will be among those representing the Football Ferns on Saturday. Photo / Photosport

South Korea will be competing in next year’s competition in Group H, along with respective sides Germany and Morocco, as well as Colombia.

This friendly match is one of two between the two sides this week. The second will take place on Tuesday at 6pm at the same venue, as the Ferns look to gear up for a tough tournament ahead.

Among the players representing the Ferns during Saturday’s fixture are Vic Esson and Meikayla Moore, both of whom hail from Canterbury.

They paid homage to their grassroots development coaches for helping them reach the top levels of the sport.

“I have to credit Mike De Bono and Peter Roberts, they were the start of high performance for me,” said Esson, who currently represents Rangers Women’s Team in Scotland.

“You don’t have to play for the [Wellington] Phoenix and then go overseas anymore. There are actually real opportunities for development here and we want to help encourage all of the youth in New Zealand, not just the girls to dream big but the boys too.”

Moore said while she missed out on the Under 17s team, Cantebury coaches Mike De Bono and Tim Bush saw her potential as a footballer and did extra work with her “for months on end”.

Vic Esson, who currently represents Rangers Women's Team in Scotland says she credits coaches Mike De Bono and Peter Roberts for their help while she played in Canterbury. Photo / Photosport

“Football’s not our main sport down here, but it’s great to come home to New Zealand and play in front of our home crowd in our very own backyard,” she said.

“While it’s gutting there’s no World Cup games here, we’re stoked Christchurch gets these warm-ups and to gain this kind of exposure for families and any budding future footballer.”

Earlier in the week, another two Christchurch players - Kate Taylor and Ashleigh Ward - made an appearance at their old schools of Redwood Primary and Halswell Primary to run a skills and drills session with hundreds of kids.

“Redwood is a small school, [so] kicking 150 balls around the pitch, to have everyone smiling, to see some familiar faces. They were excited to kick a ball about and signing stuff – it was cool,” said Taylor, who returned to the school for the first time as an international.

“I’m super excited at the opportunity to play in front of fans and family and looking forward to showcasing what we have as a team here in Christchurch,” added Ward.

Tickets for the match can be purchased at the gates, costing $10 for adults and $5 for kids.