New Zealand’s Women’s National football team, commonly known as the Football Ferns, have come a long way since their historic win of the first Women’s Asian Cup in 1975, however their triumph remains massively unrecognised.
Isobel Kennedy recalls arriving back, in 1975, to her home in Auckland, to witness that she and her teammates remained anonymous despite just winning the first Women’s Asian Cup. Some friends and family welcomed them at the airport however there were no reporters, cameras or fans waiting for their arrival.
For the next four years, the national team did not play again which left the original 15 players to compete for their local club sides or move on from the sport entirely.
In 2023, New Zealand co-hosted the UEFA Women’s World Cup alongside Australia. During this time, sportswear brand Puma wanted to bring back the history behind the two teams. They hosted a reunion for those players within the original Australian and New Zealand teams in the 1975 tournament. In honour of this occasion, they produced custom wear for the players and provided a cash bonus to forward on to the young girls within their local communities.
Kennedy recalls:
“More women ended up on the deck than on their feet.”
For the majority of the Football Ferns team in 1975, it was the first time they had seen each other in over 40 years. It was everything they wished the New Zealand Football Association would have done for them in the moment of glory in recognition of their impressive dedication and achievement.
The players claim they have been offered official caps but only by mail, which they find insulting, especially considering the World Cup could have been the perfect opportunity to dedicate a ceremony to the history behind the co-host team. Fighting for their worth is nothing new to these women, and is a trait seen to this day for women in sport.
Many of the players at the Women’s World Cup 2023 were fighting with their federations to receive owed payments and expected professional standards. Back then, they were told to go back to the kitchen, and that the female gender shouldn’t be playing soccer. Poole explains that a local newspaper article had come out saying that they “looked like a circus” playing sport.
The 1975 national team saw a combination of top players from the leagues in the Auckland and Wellington areas. And the ban on the women’s game in England extended to New Zealand due to the colonial ties between the two countries. Kennedy and Poole all recall having objects thrown at them. During the games, as well as after during the victory lap.
“Apples, tomatoes, anything they could find.”
When they retreated to the locker room, they waited for 30 minutes, and then walked past armed police to the bus where they were told to lie flat on the floor as objects continued to be thrown.
Still holding fond memories of the 1975 tournament, they looked at the World Cup as the perfect opportunity to further progress the country’s love for football.
Nell Jongeneel, former international in the 1975 squad, stated:
“This whole World Cup has changed how I felt about football … I want to get involved again.”
As history is written close to home, the remaining players from that 1975 team want to make sure the team’s full story is told.
Marianne Poole expresses:
“If they don’t recognise us, how much have we progressed?“
Within the World Cup 2023, the New Zealand women’s national team went on to make history. With a crowd of 42,137, the football ferns won their first World Cup match, with a stunning goal from Hannah Wilkinson agasint Norway in the 48th minute. Securing their first World Cup win was an incredible way to open the tournament as the co-hosts of the tournament.
We have recently seen their dedication within the Paris 2024 Olympics, however their journey came to an end with a disappointing 2-1 loss against France which sent Les Bleues through to the quarter finals to play Brazil.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/29/new-zealand-football-ferns-world-cup-story
