KEY POINTS:
American-born Canadian team manager Stephanie Rushton was blown away by local fans who high-fived and shook hands with her players after they had beaten New Zealand 1-0 in the opening game of Fifa's inaugural Under-17 Women's World Cup at North Harbour Stadium on Tuesday night.
But she wasn't really surprised by the reception they got.
"Everything about this tournament has exceeded our expectations," said Rushton. "It is the best tournament I've seen.
"The fans have been wonderful. There was no booing and they really appreciated what they saw. I have already told people I could easily come and live in New Zealand. I was very impressed with the New Zealand team and hope they can join us in going on."
Soccer has been very much part of Rushton's life since her daughter, now 24, first kicked a ball 18 years ago and was good enough to play at under-20 level for Canada.
Caught in the rush when soccer started making inroads into traditional Canadian women's sports such as ice hockey, basketball, volleyball and field hockey, Rushton went with the flow.
There are now 366,510 registered women players in Canada - and probably just as many unregistered - and the sport has overtaken ice hockey as the most popular.
"The Canadian women have qualified for every age group World Cup," said Rushton.
Soccer's stronghold is in Ontario and British Columbia with a lot of players coming into the game as young as 4 or 5. Once they make their way through the grades, the national body takes firm control giving standout players the very best opportunities.
"Once they are in our national programme we don't allow them to play at school," said Rushton. "They are too good. We let them play with their clubs, but only from April to September. The rest of the time is spent at training academies."
But the sacrifices are worth it.
Every player in the squad is guaranteed a scholarship at an American university. At US$30,000 ($50,500) a year, they are a dream come true just as victory in this tournament would make the hard work worth the effort.
