Wellington Phoenix FC (women)

Wellington Phoenix Women

Full name	Wellington Phoenix Women's Football Club
Nickname(s)	Phoenix, Wahinix, Nix
Short name	Wellington
Founded	10 September 2021;3 years ago (10 September 2021)
Ground	Sky Stadium, Wellington Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua [1]
Capacity	34,500
Owner	WelNix Group
Chairman	Robert Morrison
Coach	Paul Temple [2]
League	A-League Women
2023–24	8th of 12
Website	https://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/
Default colours
Current season

Wellington Phoenix Women's Football Club is a professional women's football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The Phoenix competes in the Australian premier women's soccer competition A-League Women, under licence from Football Federation Australia and New Zealand Football.

History

Establishment

For several years, there have been talks concerning the creation of a professional women's football team in New Zealand so as to boost the level of women's football in New Zealand and Oceania with the cost of travelling to away games a major barrier. ^{[3] [4]} There were no professional clubs in New Zealand and the National League only featured amateur teams. The talks intensified after New Zealand won the rights to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the W-League plans to add three more expansion teams by that time. ^{[5] [6]}

In September 2021, Phoenix announced they were one of the clubs in consideration under the W-League expansion and later confirmed creating a women's team. ^{[7] [8]}

Inaugural season

On 11 October 2021, Wellington Phoenix announced Gemma Lewis would be the inaugural head coach of the side. They also announced that Natalie Lawrence would be her assistant for the 2021–22 season, making them one of two all-female coaching staffs in the A-League Women. ^[9] A few days later, they announced former Perth Glory keeper and 2020–21 players’ player of the year, Lily Alfeld as the clubs inaugural signing. ^[10] Alfeld was later announced as the club's inaugural captain. ^[11]

Phoenix played their home games at Wollongong with the hope of returning to their home stadium in Wellington later in the season. Wellington Phoenix started their debut season in the A-League in the 2021–22 season with a 0–0 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers at the Wollongong Showgrounds. ^[12]

Ava Pritchard scored the club's first goal in their second game of the season, in a 1–5 loss to Newcastle Jets. ^[13]

On 11 February 2022, the Phoenix achieved their first win in A-League Women history in a 3–0 away win against Canberra United. ^[14]

Players

First-team squad

As of 21 November 2024 ^[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   NZL Zoe McMeeken 3 DF   LBN Tiana Jaber 4 DF   NZL Mackenzie Barry 5 DF   USA Alivia Kelly 6 MF   USA Maya McCutcheon 7 FW   NZL Grace Jale 9 FW   ENG Olivia Fergusson 10 MF   NZL Alyssa Whinham 11 MF   NZL Manaia Elliott 13 GK   NZL Brooke Neary(youth) 14 MF   JPN Mebae Tanaka

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF   NZL Daisy Brazendale 16 MF   NZL Annalie Longo (captain) 17 MF   NZL Ela Jerez(scholarship) 18 DF   NZL Ella McCann(scholarship) 19 MF   NZL Olivia Ingham 20 FW   NZL Emma Main 21 DF   NZL Lara Wall(scholarship) 22 GK   NZL Aimee Danieli(scholarship) 23 DF   NZL Rebecca Lake 25 FW   NZL Ella McMillan(scholarship) 39 GK   POR Carolina Vilão

Management team

Technical staff

As of 14 August 2024 ^[16]

Position	Staff
Manager	Paul Temple
Assistant manager	Amy Shepherd
Team analyst	Tyron Curtis
Goalkeeping Coach	Nick Stanton
Strength and conditioning coach	Kieran McMinn
Head physiotherapist	Mei Morton
Team operations & equipment manager	Wendy Turton

Captaincy history

Dates	Name	Honours (as captain)
2021–2023	Lily Alfeld [17]	Inaugural club captain
2023–	Annalie Longo [18]

Records and statistics

• Record Win: 5–0 vs Canberra United, A-League Women, 22 January 2023
• Record Defeat: 0–5 vs Sydney FC, A-League Women, 30 December 2021
• Record High Attendance: 5,532 vs Perth Glory, Mount Smart Stadium, 25 November 2023 ^[19]
• Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 2
  • Betsy Hassett vs Canberra United, A-League Women, 22 January 2023
  • Milly Clegg vs Adelaide United, A-League Women, 28 March 2023
  • Mariana Speckmaier vs Canberra United, A-League Women, 28 January 2024
  • Emma Main vs Western Sydney Wanderers, A-League Women, 30 March 2024
• Most Wins in a Row: 3 matches, from 22 October 2023 to 12 November 2023
• Longest Undefeated Streak: 3 matches, from 22 October 2023 to 12 November 2023
• Most Goals In a Regular season: Mariana Speckmaier  – 10 goals, 2023–24 A-League Women

Most appearances

Last updated 17 November 2024Competitive, professional matches only. All current players are in bold

	Name	Years	A-League Women	Finals	Total
1	Mackenzie Barry	2021–	53	0	53
2	Kate Taylor	2021–2024	42	0	42
3	Alyssa Whinham	2021–	41	0	41
4	Michaela Foster	2021–2023	38	0	38
	Zoe McMeeken	2021–	38	0	38

Top goalscorers

Last updated 30 March 2024Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.

	Name	Years	A-League Women	Finals	Total	Games per goal
1	Mariana Speckmaier	2023–	10 (21)	0 (0)	10 (21)	0.48
2	Grace Jale	2021–2022	6 (12)	0 (0)	6 (12)	0.5
3	Emma Main	2023–	5 (20)	0 (0)	5 (20)	0.25
	Chloe Knott	2021–2023	5 (38)	0 (0)	5 (38)	0.13
5	Milly Clegg	2022–2023	4 (16)	0 (0)	4 (16)	0.25
	Michaela Robertson	2022–	4 (25)	0 (0)	4 (25)	0.16
	Ava Pritchard	2021–2023	4 (32)	0 (0)	4 (32)	0.13
	Kate Taylor	2021–	4 (42)	0 (0)	4 (42)	0.1

References

1. "Porirua to host Phoenix Women". 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
2. "Academy technical director to take charge of the Nix". 7 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
3. "A-League club aiming to start new W-League team". The Women's Game. 11 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
4. "New W-League team would likely be based in Sydney". The Women's Game. 14 June 2020. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020.
5. Gilhooly, Daniel (26 June 2020). "World Cup sparks call for pro team in New Zealand". The Women's Game. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
6. "APL announces plans for expanded W-League". abc.net.au. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021.
7. Rollo, Phillip; Voerman, Andrew (3 September 2021). "Wellington Phoenix to be included in expanded W-League before 2023 World Cup". Stuff . Retrieved 3 August 2022.
8. Voerman, Andrew (10 September 2021). "Wellington Phoenix to field women's team in W-League with quota of Australian players". Stuff . Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
9. "Wellington Phoenix Announces Lewis and Lawrence as Inaugural A-League Women's Coaching Staff". Wellington Phoenix. 11 October 2021.
10. "Experienced goalkeeper Lily Alfeld locked in as Wellington Phoenix women's first signing". Stuff . 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
11. "Lily Alfeld to captain Wellington Phoenix during debut A-League Women season". Stuff . 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021.
12. "Phoenix draw in A-League Women debut against Wanderers". ABC News . 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
13. Rollo, Phillip (12 December 2021). "Ava Pritchard creates history with Wellington Phoenix's first A-League Women goal". Stuff . Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
14. Rollo, Phillip (11 February 2022). "Wellington Phoenix celebrate first win in A-League Women after beating Canberra". Stuff . Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
15. "Ninja A-League Round 1 Match Preview". Wellington Phoenix . 31 October 2024.
16. "New backroom staff for Phoenix women". Wellington Phoenix . 31 August 2023.
17. Rollo, Phillip (30 November 2021). "Lily Alfeld to captain Wellington Phoenix during debut A-League Women season". Stuff.
18. "Longo to lead new-look Phoenix". Wellington Phoenix. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
19. "W League Crowd statistics". ALeagueStats. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

External links

• Official website