The New Zealand women's football side's road to London will continue in Northland with Whangarei's Toll Stadium confirmed to host the first leg of Oceania women's Olympic playoff against Papua New Guinea on March 31.
The match will be the first time the Football Ferns have played a home international
outside Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Hamilton and will form part of a festival of international and local football with the game preceded by the men's and women's finals of Northland's Community Cups.
"It's great to be able to take a crucial game to a part of the country that hasn't hosted international football before and even better that it becomes part of wider football event for the community," New Zealand Football chief executive Grant McKavanagh said.
"We want to take big games around the country as much as we can. The men's Olympic qualifiers begin in Taupo this week and there are All Whites games on the horizon later in the year that we'll be talking to various city councils about."
The away leg on April 4, likely to be in Port Moresby or Lei, could yet prove a tricky affair so an in-form Ferns will look to take control of the tie with a comprehensive performance on home soil. Coach Tony Readings will assemble a strong squad to make sure there are no slip-ups.
