Whanganui match doctor Brian Cotter with his family at the Women's World Cup.
Whanganui match doctor Brian Cotter with his family at the Women's World Cup.
As a match doctor, Whanganui’s Brian Cotter had one of the best views of the pitch at the Women’s World Cup.
He was able to watch the games from behind one of the corners on the field, just outside the players’ tunnel.
“It was amazing and inspiring just to be around such elite athletes,” Cotter said.
“As the father of two daughters, it’s been incredible to see the momentum that this tournament has brought, it’s obvious that it’s been a huge year for women’s football.”
He said his wife, who coached a local Whanganui team, had already heard stories from parents of daughters asking how they could become Football Ferns.
“It will now hopefully lead to a rise in the numbers of players next season.”
Cotter, who was stationed at Wellington’s Regional Stadium, said the best of the nine matches he attended was Spain defeating Netherlands in the quarter-final.
“It was elite football but it was also nice to see an underdog rise to a level at which they hadn’t before.
“The vibe of the crowd was electric and the amount of support was magnetic really.”
Vittoria Aspinall with Tazuni, the Fifa Women's World Cup mascot.
Thirteen-year-old Vittoria Aspinall was a ball girl at three matches.
“I really liked the New Zealand versus Philippines game and it was really exciting watching it, but my favourite game that I was a ball kid for was the USA versus Netherlands.
“In the first half I was always watching Alex Morgan with the ball because she was up on my end of the field, she was really good.”
Aspinall had to arrive five hours early for each game and said she enjoyed spending time in the heated room at halftime.
“It was a bit cold just standing and waiting to get the ball, but when it went out you got a shiver of excitement to put the ball back in, and one time I got two metres close to one of the Spanish players.”
Aspinall said she turned down an offer to watch another game the following weekend because she didn’t want to miss out on her own club game in Whanganui.
“I think this is the most I’ve ever enjoyed doing football, probably because of all the football games I’ve been watching.
“It feels really cool to be on the field for my own games. Even though it’s not [as] important [as the World Cup] it still feels really cool.”
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
