Yes, the path to the world’s most watched event in 2026 was easier
this time than in 1982 or 2010, but the riches could be even greater.
After the disasters of the Football Kingz FC and New Zealand Knights FC as this country’s first fully professional clubs, the game seemed destined at the start of the century to languish as an afterthought in our national conscience.
Then the Wellington Phoenix came into existence in 2007, saving the professional game here and undoubtedly helping us qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Popularity in the sport surged as previously unknown names became stars, like Winston Reid who went on to a 10-plus year career at West Ham United.
With an estimated 3.5 billion fans globally, our early entry to the pinnacle of the sport in North America next year will see another wave of young fans fall in love with the game.
A 2023 national survey by School Sport New Zealand found that football is the fifth-biggest sport with kids here – still a few thousand behind netball, basketball, volleyball, and rugby.
It is possible our most popular sports at school could become football and basketball in the near future.
It certainly helps New Zealand football right now has what many would argue is our greatest ever player in the prime of his career.
The achievements of Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest as a genuine star in the English Premier League this season are simply remarkable.
And the immediate success of Auckland FC, both on and off the pitch, has seen their matches at Mt Smart become the hottest ticket in town this summer.
New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell told the Herald this week the game’s “obviously going through another surge, another big growth period”.
“It’s almost in an unstoppable position now from my perspective. We’ve been the biggest [participation] sport for a long time but to see our national teams go to World Cups, the flow-on effect that it has for fan engagement and obviously the investment that comes with this as well.”
It’s expected our participation in next year’s World Cup will be worth at least $20 million to the game here. Could this lead to a third A-League team from Christchurch?
Our future in the global game could replicate a similar path to our Australian cousins. We have seen how regular World Cup qualification has changed the game across the ditch.
Now it’s our time to join the football world.
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