Not all rosy for the All Whites

It is halfway through the long Hyundai A-League domestic off-season, and just twelve months after the All Whites’ relative triumph at the 2010 World Cup. Yet despite New Zealand being the only unbeaten team at that tournament (following draws with Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay, and group-stage elimination), football in the traditionally rugby-obsessed nation still struggles both to define itself and to forge out a broad and distinctive fan base.

Such difficulties are likely to continue. This autumn, the Rugby World Cup, hosted by the All Blacks, will receive blanket coverage in New Zealand. Wellington Phoenix, the sole professional football team in the country, which competes in the Australian A-League, will play the first three matches of the forthcoming season on the days that are likely also to see the All Blacks’ three knockout matches, assuming that they reach the final. It is a fairly safe assumption that the rugby final will overshadow the Phoenix’s trip to Perth to take on the Glory on 23rd October.

Though primarily a rugby ground, the Phoenix play their home matches at the 36,000-seater Westpac Stadium. Known as the Ring of Fire by Phoenix fans (who describe themselves as the Yellow Fever), the stadium has been the scene of two matches in recent years that have done much to rejuvenate New Zealand football. In December 2007, a friendly against the David Beckham-led Los Angeles Galaxy drew in nearly 32,000 people, a record domestic football attendance in the country.

Then, in November 2009, the All Whites triumphed over Bahrain in the second leg of the World Cup qualifying play-off, with the only goal of the game coming from Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Fallon. In the aftermath of New Zealand qualifying for their first World Cup since 1982, bold predictions were made that football was on course to overtake rugby as the nation’s favourite sport.

That claim was strengthened by both the performance of the All Whites in South Africa, and the support they received throughout the tournament. More than 400,000 people – 10 per cent of the country’s population – tuned in to the Paraguay match, which kicked off at 2am New Zealand time. A ticker tape parade through Wellington, attended by Prime Minister John Key, greeted the team on its return home. It was not only the All Whites that the New Zealand public followed either, with three quarters of a million people watching the final, which began early on a Monday morning in the south Pacific.

But one year on, New Zealand has readopted its default, rugby-mad stance. It is unfortunate that the seeds sown by last year’s success have been largely trampled by New Zealand’s hosting of the rugby this autumnm. And if the perennial favourites the All Blacks were to triumph, for the first time since 1987, it would constitute an even bigger blow to their football compatriots.

New Zealand football’s struggle to define itself is much worse from a domestic perspective. With the Phoenix the only professional team, an impression is given that club football is a largely foreign – Australian – phenomenon. The eight-team ASB Premiership, featuring sides including Waitakere United and Youngheart Manawatu, is played out before crowds of similar size to those of the Welsh Premier League. It is a struggle to find any mention of it in the New Zealand media.

Even the future of the Phoenix is unclear. Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, has made overtures to the franchise, in an apparent attempt to lure the team north. Auckland has already hosted an A-League team – the New Zealand Knights – but relinquished the franchise due to poor attendances. Attendances trebled in Wellington, and by staging matches in Christchurch and Palmerston North, the Phoenix became a team for the whole nation, and not just one city, to support.

But as the Phoenix prepare for next season, such uncertainty cannot help their cause. And, with just 14 players contracted to the side, there is much to be done before October. Phoenix head coach Ricki Herbert, who combines the role with that of All Whites coach, remains relaxed about on-field matters. Owner of the Phoenix, property tycoon Terry Serepisos, has likewise dismissed talk of the team switching to Auckland.

The merits of a move to the City of Sails are minimal. Wellington has fostered (or at least presided over) a marked improvement in the fortunes of football in New Zealand. Serepisos has pointed out that the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) owns the franchise licence. As a result, only the FFA would have the right to relocate the Phoenix. It was, after all, the FFA which disbanded the Auckland-based Knights.

The fact that the FFA holds ultimate power over the Wellington Phoenix is indicative of the difficulties faced by New Zealand football. That its sole professional team is a member of a foreign league demonstrates the shallow roots of football in the nation. The rationale for 2010’s World Cup-based optimism was that success breeds success. But to start from the relatively low support base that football does, compared not just with rugby but also with sports including cricket and netball, means that a greater portfolio of achievements is a necessity. Geography is another contributory factor. It is difficult to inspire football fans when the Oceania Football Confederation features only 10 other nations. The second-highest ranked country in the OFC is Fiji, nearly 100 places behind the All Whites.

It is somewhat depressing that so soon after the success in South Africa, New Zealand football is once again in a state of flux. Equally, the draws against Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia should not act as a smokescreen. The All Whites have a long way to go before they can truly assert themselves on the world stage, as was indicated by a tame 3-0 defeat by Mexico in Denver earlier this month. The 2010 World Cup should not continue to be viewed through rose-tinted glasses. Consolidation and stability should be encouraged, and the Phoenix should remain in Wellington. At the same time, the support garnered by the All Whites has to be tapped at grassroots level if football will ever be able to compete with rugby for New Zealanders’ affections.