Soccer Ashes

Soccer Ashes

Founded	1923;102 years ago (1923)
Number of teams	2
Current champions	Australia
Most successful team(s)	Australia (6 series wins)

The Soccer Ashes is an association football trophy contested by Australia and New Zealand. ^[1] It was initially held between the 1920s and 1950s before the trophy was lost. ^{[2] [3]} The trophy was found in 2023, and a renewal was held in London in October. ^[1]

History

The concept of awarding a trophy made of ashes was inspired by the Ashes urn awarded to the winner of series between Australia and England in cricket.

The Soccer Ashes were created in 1923 after New Zealand had defeated Australia in the inaugural series in 1922. The ashes consisted of the remains of cigars smoked by the two captains, Alec Gibb (Australia) and George Campbell (New Zealand), after the first match between the two teams on Australian soil in June 1923. The ashes were encased in a razor case used by Australian soldier, William Fisher during the Gallipoli campaign during World War I. Fisher was also the secretary of the Queensland Football Association. ^[4] The case was then set in a box made of wood from both countries. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The whereabouts of the trophy were not known from the mid-1950s until it was found in 2023 at the estate of former Australian Soccer Football Association chairman Sydney Storey by his grandchildren. ^{[8] [7]} Upon the recovery of the trophy, the first edition of the match since 1954 was scheduled for October. ^[1] It was played in London, with Australia winning the series. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

The All Whites and Socceroos played a two-match series in September 2025. Australia won the first match 1–0 in Canberra and the second match 3–1 in Auckland, thereby securing the Soccer Ashes trophy. ^[12]

List of Soccer Ashes series

S	Years	Host	M	AUS	NZ	D	Result
1	1922	New Zealand	3	0	2	1	New Zealand
2	1923	Australia	3	1	2	0	New Zealand
3	1933	Australia	3	3	0	0	Australia
4	1936	New Zealand	3	3	0	0	Australia
5	1948	New Zealand	3	3	0	0	Australia
6	1954	Australia	3	2	1	0	Australia
7	2023	England	1	1	0	0	Australia
8	2025	Australia New Zealand	2	2	0	0	Australia

Editions

1922

New Zealand   v   Australia

17 June	New Zealand	3–1	Australia	Dunedin, New Zealand
	Cook 20', ?' Knott ?'	Report	Maunder 45'	Stadium: Carisbrook Attendance: 10,000~ Referee: M. Thornley (New Zealand)

New Zealand   v   Australia

24 June	New Zealand	1–1	Australia	Wellington, New Zealand
	Cook 10'	Report	Bratton 25'	Stadium: Athletic Park Attendance: 12,000 Referee: R.S. Lithgrow (New Zealand)

New Zealand   v   Australia

8 July	New Zealand	3–1	Australia	Auckland, New Zealand
	Ballard 5' Cook 10' Dacre ?'	Report	Brown ?'	Stadium: Carlaw Park Attendance: 15,000 Referee: L.C.H. Dawson (New Zealand)

New Zealand won 2−1–0 on series.

1923

Australia   v   New Zealand

9 June	Australia	2–1	New Zealand	Brisbane, Australia
	Lennard 7' Maunder 90'	Report	Dacre 57'	Stadium: Brisbane Cricket Ground Attendance: 7,000 [13] Referee: M. Thornley (New Zealand)

Australia   v   New Zealand

16 June	Australia	2–3	New Zealand	Sydney, Australia
	Lennard ?' Gilmore ?'	Report	Campbell ?', ?', ?'	Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 10,000 Referee: A. Jackson (Australia)

Australia   v   New Zealand

30 June	Australia	1–4	New Zealand	Newcastle, Australia
	Maunder ?'	Report	Campbell 46', 51', ?', ?'	Stadium: Newcastle Showground Attendance: 14,000 Referee: LB Tamlyn (Australia)

New Zealand won 2−0–1 on series.

1933

Australia   v   New Zealand

5 June	Australia	4–2	New Zealand	Brisbane, Australia
	Smith 20', ?' Gorring ?', 80'	Report	Kershaw 55' Chapman ?'	Stadium: Brisbane Exhibition Ground Attendance: 5,000 [14] Referee: Z. Korotcoff (Australia)

Australia   v   New Zealand

17 June	Australia	6–4	New Zealand	Sydney, Australia
	G. Smith ?', ?', ?' Crowhurst ?' Cameron ?' Hughes ?'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 5,000 Referee: D. Quinn (Australia)

Australia   v   New Zealand

24 June	Australia	4–2	New Zealand	Sydney, Australia
	Edwards ?' Crowhurst ?' G. Smith ?', ?'	Report	Kershaw ?' (pen.), ?'	Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground Referee: D. Quinn (Australia)

Australia won 3−0–0 on series.

1936

New Zealand   v   Australia

4 July	New Zealand	1–7	Australia	Dunedin, New Zealand
	Skinner ?' (pen.)	Report	Smith ?', ?', ?', ?' Price ?', ?' Cameron ?'	Stadium: Logan Park Attendance: 8,000 Referee: W.P. Smith (New Zealand)

New Zealand   v   Australia

11 July	New Zealand	0–10	Australia	Wellington, New Zealand
		Report	Smith 32', ?', 53', ?', ?' Price 9', ?' Cameron 28', 48' Donaldson ?'	Stadium: Basin Reserve Attendance: 8,000 Referee: G. Jackson (New Zealand)

New Zealand   v   Australia

18 July	New Zealand	1–4	Australia	Auckland, New Zealand
	Haggett ?'	Report	Cameron ?', ?' Price ?', ?'	Stadium: Blandford Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: A. Firth (New Zealand)

Australia won 3−0–0 on series.

1948

New Zealand   v   Australia

14 August	New Zealand	0–6	Australia	Wellington, New Zealand
		Report	Parsons ?', ?', ?' Hughes ?', ?' Cunningham ?'	Stadium: Basin Reserve Attendance: [15] Referee: V. Wheeler (New Zealand)

New Zealand   v   Australia

28 August	New Zealand	0–7	Australia	Christchurch, New Zealand
		Report	Parsons ?', ?', ?' Hughes ?', ?' Cunningham ?' Johns ?'	Stadium: Lancaster Park Referee: T. Gottermeyer (New Zealand)

New Zealand   v   Australia

4 September	New Zealand	0–4	Australia	Wellington, New Zealand
		Report	Johns ?', ?' Hughes ?' Lawrie ?'	Stadium: Basin Reserve Attendance: 3,000 Referee: J. Sanderson (New Zealand)

Australia won 3−0–0 on series.

1954

Australia   v   New Zealand

14 August	Australia	1–2	New Zealand	Melbourne, Australia
14:45 UTC+10	Robertson 75'	Report	King 5' Steele Jr. 7'	Stadium: Melbourne Showgrounds Referee: George Gatt (Australia)

Australia   v   New Zealand

28 August	Australia	4–1	New Zealand	Brisbane, Australia
15:15	Robertson 19' Stewart 30', 88' Lennard 50'	Report	Smith 52'	Stadium: Brisbane Cricket Ground Attendance: 6,400 Referee: V. Robertson (Australia)

Australia   v   New Zealand

4 September	Australia	4–1	New Zealand	Sydney, Australia
15:00	Stewart ?' Nunn ?', ?' Murray ?'	Report	Steele Jr. ?'	Stadium: Sydney Sports Ground Attendance: 5,798 Referee: Dick Thorpe (Australia)

Australia won 2−0–1 on series.

2023

17 October

19:45 BST

Australia	2–0	New Zealand
Souttar 13' Irvine 76'	Report

Gtech Community Stadium, London

Attendance: 5,761

Referee: Stuart Attwell (England)

Australia [16]

New Zealand [16]

GK 1 Mathew Ryan (c) RB 17 Lewis Miller  46' CB 19 Harry Souttar CB 23 Alessandro Circati LB 5 Jordan Bos  66' DM 20 Keanu Baccus RM 6 Martin Boyle  82' CM 21 Massimo Luongo  66' CM 8 Connor Metcalfe  81' LM 16 Aziz Behich CF 15 Mitchell Duke  66' Substitutions: DF 13 Ryan Strain  46' FW 9 Brandon Borrello  66' FW 10 Craig Goodwin  66' MF 22 Jackson Irvine  66' MF 14 Aiden O'Neill  81' FW 7 Samuel Silvera  82' Manager: Graham Arnold

GK 22 Michael Woud CB 5 Michael Boxall  81' CB 6 Bill Tuiloma  73' CB 4 Nando Pijnaker RM 20 Callum McCowatt CM 7 Matthew Garbett CM 8 Marko Stamenić LM 13 Liberato Cacace RF 16 Elijah Just  73' CF 9 Chris Wood (c)  81' LF 17 Alex Greive  67' Substitutions: FW 14 Joe Champness  67' FW 19 Ben Waine  73' DF 2 Niko Kirwan  73' FW 21 Max Mata  81' DF 18 Tyler Bindon  81' Manager: Darren Bazeley

Assistant referees: Simon Bennett (England) Lee Betts (England) Fourth official: Darren England (England)

2025

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Australia	4–1	New Zealand	1–0	1–3

Australia   v   New Zealand

5 September	Australia	1–0	New Zealand	Canberra, Australia
19:45  UTC+10	Balard 87'	Source		Stadium: GIO Stadium Attendance: 19,115 Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

New Zealand   v   Australia

9 September	New Zealand	1–3	Australia	Auckland, New Zealand
19:00  UTC+12	Wood 57'	Source	Toure 35', 60' Irankunda 54'	Stadium: Mount Smart Stadium Attendance: 18,213 Referee: Donald Robertson (Scotland)

Australia won 4–1 on aggregate.

Performances

As of 9 September 2025 ^[update] .

Overall Match Results:

Matches played	Australia wins	New Zealand wins	Draws
21	15	5	1

Overall Series Results:

Series played	Australia wins	New Zealand wins	Draws
8	6	2	0

See also

• Trans-Tasman Cup
• Australia–New Zealand soccer rivalry

References

1. "All Whites to face Socceroos for historic Soccer Ashes trophy this October in London". www.nzfootball.co.nz. New Zealand Football . Retrieved 10 July 2023.
2. Rugari, Vince; Bossi, Dominic (11 April 2019). "FFA backing fresh push to find the lost 'Soccer Ashes'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
3. Bertram, Gavin (22 April 2015). "Anzac Ashes the forgotten sporting battle played between Australia and New Zealand". Stuff. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
4. Houston, J., (1952) Association football in New Zealand, Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed, p. 50.
5. "Soccer Ashes". Sun-Herald. 5 September 1954. Retrieved 19 February 2014– via National Library of Australia.
6. "The Soccer Ashes of Australasia". Hawera & Normanby Star. 3 May 1924. Retrieved 19 February 2014– via National Library of New Zealand.
7. "ANZAC Soccer Ashes Trophy recovered". Football Australia. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
8. "Anzac 'Soccer Ashes' trophy found after vanishing for 69 years". Guardian Australia . 25 April 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
9. Lynch, Joey (18 October 2023). "Jackson Irvine seals Socceroos win over New Zealand to claim 'Soccer Ashes'". Guardian Australia . Retrieved 22 November 2023.
10. Curulli, Chris (13 July 2023). "What is the Soccer Ashes Trophy? Find out more about the prize for October's match v New Zealand". socceroos.com.au. Football Australia (FA). While the Soccer Ashes trophy was not masterminded and built until 1923, it was actually played for a year earlier. Australia and New Zealand took to the pitch for their first 'A' Internationals in June 1922 in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland, before a return tour in Australia in 1923. With a well-organised set-up, boosted by the heroics of their captain George Campbell, New Zealand had the edge throughout these fixtures, winning two and drawing one of the first series.
11. Gibson, Tim (18 October 2023). "Socceroos secure Soccer Ashes with comfortable New Zealand win". Socceroos . Football Australia.
12. Voerman, Andrew (9 September 2025). "Chris Wood ends trans-Tasman goal drought but All Whites lose to Socceroos again". Stuff . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
13. "Socceroo Internationals for 1923". ozfootball.net.
14. "Socceroo Internationals for 1933". ozfootball.net.
15. "Socceroo Internationals for 1948". ozfootball.net.
16. "Tactical Line-ups – Australia v New Zealand". espn.com. ESPN. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2025.