Wanderers Special Club (often abbreviated as Wanderers SC) were a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand.

Club overview

The team was age-restricted, and featured only players below 20 years of age. The club was formed to develop players for the

New Zealand national under-20 football team The New Zealand men's national under-20 football team, more commonly known as the Junior All Whites, is controlled by New Zealand Football and represents New Zealand in international Under 20 or youth football competitions. The 25,000 capacity ...

in preparation for the then up-coming 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, hosted in New Zealand. New Zealand Football High Performance Director

Fred de Jong Fred de Jong (born 5 April 1964) is a New Zealand former football striker who represented his country in the 1980s and early 1990s. Club career De Jong played senior football with Mt. Wellington before moving to Australia, helping Marconi S ...

said that "one of the objectives is to retain our top young players in New Zealand for longer, and entry into the

ASB Premiership The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

gives us an opportunity to prepare in a cost effective manner when compared to touring the team internationally." The club is considered to be a continuation of Northern-Based, an under-17 team that played in the ASB Youth League and provided several players to New Zealand for the 2013 OFC U-17 Championship. The team entered the 2013–14 ASB Premiership season, replacing outgoing YoungHeart Manawatu. The team was withdrawn from the ASB Premiership following the completion of the 2014–15 season.

Players

Young players who were in the Wanderers squad included the following (with position and previous club): *

Cory Brown Cory James Brown (born 3 April 1996) is a New Zealand footballer who currently plays for Tasman United. Career Brown spending time in his native New Zealand playing semi-professionally, Brown moved to the United States to play college socce ...

(Defender - Island Bay United) * Judd Baker (Forward - East Coast Bays) * Nathan Buswell (Forward - Birkenhead United) *

Andre de Jong Andre Ernest de Jong (born 2 November 1996) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )

(Midfield - Ellerslie) *

Moses Dyer Moses John Dyer (born 21 March 1997) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays for USL Championship side Tulsa. Club career Wanderers SC In September 2014, Dyer signed with New Zealand Premiership side Wanderers SC. Dyer made his c ...

(Midfield/Forward) * Michael den Heijer (Midfield - Onehunga Sports) * Damian Hirst - (Goalkeeper - Western Springs) * Stuart Holthusen (Forward - Onehunga Sports) * Riley Kelliher (Defender - Island Bay United) * Clayton Lewis (Midfield -

Wellington Olympic AFC Wellington Olympic AFC is a New Zealand amateur football club based in Berhampore, Wellington. The club's premier team competes in the Central League through which they have qualified for the New Zealand National League. Club history The club w ...

/ Team Wellington FC) * Adam Mitchell (Defender - Central United) * Elijah Neblett (Forward - Birkenhead United) * Reilly O'Meagher (Defender - Glenfield Rovers) * Monty Patterson (Forward - Eastern Suburbs) *

Logan Rogerson Logan Tipene Rogerson (born 28 May 1998) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays for Finnish Premier League club FC Haka as a winger. He has been capped by the New Zealand national football team. Career After beginning his senior c ...

(Wing) * Oliver Sail (Goalkeeper) * Nick Sugden (Midfield - Onehunga Sports) * Benjamin Thomas (Midfield - Three Kings United), *

Deklan Wynne Deklan Terrence Wynne (born 20 March 1995) is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a left back for the New Zealand national team. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and emigrated to New Zealand in January 2010, aged 14. The eligibili ...

(Defender, East Coast Bays)

References

{{New Zealand Football Championship Association football clubs in Auckland 2013 establishments in New Zealand Association football clubs established in 2013 2018 disestablishments in New Zealand Association football clubs disestablished in 2018