Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
, under
licence from
Football Federation Australia
Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...
.
Phoenix entered the competition in the
2007–08 season after its formation in March 2007, by
New Zealand Football
New Zealand Football is the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand. It oversees the seven New Zealand Football federations, as well as the New Zealand national football team (nicknamed the "All Whites"), the nationa ...
to replace
New Zealand Knights
New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-Leagu ...
as a New Zealand-based club in the Australian A-League competition. The club is one of the few clubs in the world to compete in a
league of a different confederation (
AFC) from that of the country where it is based (
OFC).
The club's highest achievement is reaching the
A-League Preliminary Final in 2010. The club plays matches at
Sky Stadium (formerly Westpac Stadium), a 34,500-seat multi-purpose venue in Wellington. Their home kit consists of black and yellow stripes.
History
Foundation
During the later stages of the
2006–07 A-League season,
Football Federation Australia
Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...
(FFA) removed
New Zealand Knights
New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-Leagu ...
A-League
licence due to the club's financial and administrative problems and poor on-field performance. After the resignation of the New Zealand Knights board, FFA transferred the licence to New Zealand Soccer (NZS, now
New Zealand Football
New Zealand Football is the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand. It oversees the seven New Zealand Football federations, as well as the New Zealand national football team (nicknamed the "All Whites"), the nationa ...
), which administered the club for the rest of the season before its subsequent dissolution.
FFA then provided NZS a provisional A-League licence to sub-let to a suitable New Zealand team to enter the
2007–08 A-League season. FFA set an application deadline to NZS and subsequently delayed that deadline to give more time for potential applicants in New Zealand to apply along with NZS support.
While NZS was given a chance to apply with a new sub-licensee, a
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
-based consortium, Tropical Football Australia (TFA) also expressed interest and prepared an A-League application to replace the place previously held by the Knights.
However, TFA eventually pulled out with the understanding of the FFA's preference to retain a New Zealand team for the league. TFA resubmitted its bid the following year as a potential A-League expansion franchise under the name "Northern Thunder FC", which was later changed to "
North Queensland Thunder
Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from ...
"; however, this bid died after expansion for the 2007–08 season was cancelled.
After much delay, the final amount needed for the application came from Wellington property businessman
Terry Serepisos
Terry Serepisos (born 1963) is a Wellington-based property developer and former owner of A-League association football club Wellington Phoenix. In 2010, he was the host in the New Zealand incarnation of the hit TV series ''The Apprentice''. Aft ...
in the latter stages of the bid. Serepisos, the club's majority owner and chairman, provided
NZD
The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...
$1,250,000 to ensure the beginnings of a new New Zealand franchise and a continuation of New Zealand's participation in the A-League. FFA finalised a three-year A-League licence to New Zealand Football who then sub-let the licence to the Wellington-based club. The new Wellington club was confirmed on 19 March 2007.
The name for the new club was picked from a shortlist of six, pruned from 250 names suggested by the public, and was announced on 28 March 2007. Serepisos said of the name, that "It symbolises the fresh start, the rising from the ashes, and the incredible Wellington support that has come out".
Despite the backing of
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
,
AFC president
Mohammed Bin Hammam stated that due to AFC criteria, the Wellington team must move to Australia or disband by 2011. However, in an interview aired on
SBS on 21 December 2008, FIFA president
Sepp Blatter stated unequivocally, "It is not the matter of the Confederation, it is the matter of the FIFA Executive Committee... If Wellington will go on play on in Australian League, then as long as Australian league wants to have them and Wellington wants to stay (and) Both association in this case, New Zealand Soccer and Australian Football are happy with that then we will give them the blessing. The Confederation cannot interfere with that.".
Rise of the Phoenix
In the
2009–10 season, Wellington Phoenix became the first New Zealand side to reach the playoffs of an Australian football competition when
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
beat
Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
2–0 in the 26th round. It meant that
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, which before the match was the only team outside the top six with a chance of making the playoffs, no longer could. The Phoenix overcame the
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...
on 12 February 2010 to finish fourth, which meant it would host a playoff game against
Perth Glory
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues.
Founded in 19 ...
on 21 February 2010. The Phoenix beat Perth by penalty shootout (4–2) after 120 minutes (including 30 minutes of extra time). Phoenix then hosted a home game against
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
on 7 March, which they won in extra time 3–1.
In the Preliminary Final against
Sydney FC, the Phoenix lost 4–2 in controversial circumstances. After being locked at 1–1 through goals from
Chris Payne for Sydney and
Andrew Durante
Andrew James Durante (born 3 May 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a retired New Zealand international footballer. He is currently the Player Welfare and Development Manager at Western United while also working as a Senior Academy Assistant ...
for Wellington,
Payne apparently missed a header and deflected the ball into the goal off his hand.
Andrew Durante
Andrew James Durante (born 3 May 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a retired New Zealand international footballer. He is currently the Player Welfare and Development Manager at Western United while also working as a Senior Academy Assistant ...
, who was marking
Payne went straight to the linesman, but the goal stood. "I went straight to the linesman. I knew 100 per cent it was handball. I spoke to the ref at halftime about it and he said it wasn't deliberate. It's pretty funny that one. Such a big game and such a big occasion, for something like that to change the game is very disappointing." Sydney FC strikers
Alex Brosque and
Mark Bridge
Mark Robert Bridge (born 7 November 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a striker for NPL club Mounties Wanderers.
Bridge is the Western Sydney Wanderers' first ever goalscorer, earning himself the nick ...
both scored break-away goals as Phoenix pushed forward, and
Eugene Dadi
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
added a late consolation goal. Phoenix striker
Chris Greenacre
Christopher Mark Greenacre (born 23 December 1977) is an English football manager and former footballer, he is the head coach of the Wellington Phoenix FC Reserves.
Greenacre began his career with Manchester City in 1996. Whilst at Maine Ro ...
said that the error changed the dynamics of the game. "It just rips the heart out of you. We got back in the game with a good goal and that takes it away from you. It wasn't to be. I think we were right back in it. They played some good football but I thought we had withstood it OK. If we went into halftime
t 1–1we were really confident we could get something out of it." Coach
Ricki Herbert
Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current technical director at Cambridge FC.
Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after the side faile ...
echoed those statements. The loss brought the end to the Phoenix's season, meaning that
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
and Sydney FC would compete in the Grand Final.
On 20 April 2010, FFA granted Wellington Phoenix a five-year licence extension, keeping it in the competition until at least the conclusion of the 2015–16 season.
[Phoenix get five-year extension](_blank)
, Wellington Phoenix, 20 April 2010
Many argue Wellington's ability to play in the A-League as being instrumental to the progress of the
New Zealand national side and the wider football landscape.
Change of ownership
Prior to the 2011/12 season, it emerged that Serepisos was experiencing financial difficulties, both personally and in the property empire. This included highly publicised action by the
Inland Revenue Department to liquidate a number of Serepisos' companies for unpaid taxes, including Century City Football Ltd, the club Serepisos owned the Phoenix through.
Initially, Serepisos claimed he had obtained finance through Swiss-based lenders, then announced he had agreed to a deal with Western Gulf Advisory, the Bahrain-based lender owned by
Racing Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syste ...
owner
Ahsan Ali Syed
Ahsan Ali Syed (born 23 April 1973) is an Indian businessman. He is the founder of Western Gulf Advisory, estimated to be worth approximately 8 billion pounds. He is the owner of Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. () ...
which would see 50% of the club sold. However, these funds were never received and the partial transfer never took place.
While the liquidation action was resolved through an unnamed third-party Serepisos' financial troubles did not end. Despite this, he stated he would not give up ownership of the club. Additional stories also emerged that coach Ricki Herbert was personally owed $100,000 in unpaid wages by the club.
However, on 23 September 2011, it was announced by Serepisos and the FFA that Serepisos had relinquished ownership of the club as a result of his ongoing financial difficulties. The club's licence was passed by the FFA to a new consortium of seven Wellington businessman headed by Rob Morrison and including
Gareth Morgan,
Lloyd Morrison
Hugh Richmond Lloyd Morrison (18 September 1957 – 10 February 2012) was a Wellington, New Zealand-based investment banker and entrepreneur. He founded H.R.L. Morrison & Co in 1988, and Morrison & Co launched the infrastructure company In ...
and
John Morrison.
Change of head coach
On 26 February 2013, with the Phoenix sitting in last place,
Ricki Herbert
Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current technical director at Cambridge FC.
Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after the side faile ...
resigned from the position of head coach. The Phoenix had endured a poor run of results in a
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
where they were expected to be challenging for the title. Assistant Coach
Chris Greenacre
Christopher Mark Greenacre (born 23 December 1977) is an English football manager and former footballer, he is the head coach of the Wellington Phoenix FC Reserves.
Greenacre began his career with Manchester City in 1996. Whilst at Maine Ro ...
took the reins on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. Following a "worldwide search",
Ernie Merrick
Ernest Merrick OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Kong national football team and A-Leagu ...
was announced as the head coach on 20 May 2013. Merrick had six successful years at the
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
, which was seen as important. Merrick will once again become the most experienced A-League coach in the coming season, retaking this from Herbert who passed him towards the end of the
2012–13 season. Greenacre was retained by Merrick as the assistant coach.
On 5 December 2017, Merrick resigned as head coach following the Phoenix's 2–0 loss to
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
. On 2 January 2017, Des Buckingham took over as head coach, while Chris Greenacre was made co-coach.
On 1 March 2018, Wellington Phoenix announced that Darije Kalezic will be departing the club at the end of the season after they were not able to come to an agreement on how the club proceeds forward for the next season.
Rudan era
On 30 May 2018, Wellington Phoenix announced the appointment of former
Sydney FC captain
Mark Rudan
Marko Ante "Mark" Rudan (born 27 August 1975) is an Australian soccer manager and former player. He is currently the head coach for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers.
Rudan was one of the inaugural inductees into the Sydney FC Hall o ...
as manager on a two-year contract. Mark Rudan became the first-ever Wellington Phoenix coach to win his first game in charge when the Wellington Phoenix were 2–1 victors over
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
in the opening round of the
2018–19 season. Following Round 2 clash with
Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
which ended in a 0–0 draw, it was the best start the team has had since the 2012/13 season. They suffered their first defeat of the season in Round 3 going down 3–0 to
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
. After a defeat in Round 5 against
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
, Phoenix went on a 9-game undefeated streak including draws with Premiers
Perth Glory
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues.
Founded in 19 ...
and Champions
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
, and wins over clubs like
Sydney FC and
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
. Their streak was broken by
Sydney FC in round 15. The Phoenix finished in 6th place qualifying for the playoffs. On 15 April, it was announced that Rudan would not see out the second year of his contract and would leave at season's end due to personal reasons. They were knocked out in the first elimination final by
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
3–1.
Talay era
On 4 May 2019, it was announced
Ufuk Talay
Ufuk Talay (born 26 March 1976) is an Australian football coach and former player. Talay was suited to play in central midfield and was known for his good distribution and on-field vision. He is the current manager of Wellington Phoenix.
Club ...
would be taking the reins of head coach after the departure of
Mark Rudan
Marko Ante "Mark" Rudan (born 27 August 1975) is an Australian soccer manager and former player. He is currently the head coach for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers.
Rudan was one of the inaugural inductees into the Sydney FC Hall o ...
on a one-year deal.
In his first press conference, Talay expressed his idea of building a young team with a strong Kiwi core. He made his first signing with
All Whites
The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...
goalkeeper
Stefan Marinovic and signed local Kiwi players,
Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi
Te Atawhai Maurice Hudson-Wihongi (born 27 March 1995) is a New Zealand footballer who currently plays for Southern Football League Division One Central club Walthamstow. He has also played for the New Zealand national football team.
Career
...
,
Tim Payne,
and
Callum McCowatt.
Talay made his first import signing with Mexican
Ulises Dávila
Ulises Alejandro Dávila Plascencia (born 13 April 1991) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for A-League club Macarthur FC whom he captains.
Club career Guadalajara
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Dávila ...
following another import signing of English striker,
David Ball.
On 24 July, it was announced that
Steven Taylor would be the captain heading into the new season while
Alex Rufer
Alex Arthur Rufer (born 12 June 1996) is a New Zealand professional footballer who captains and plays as a defensive midfielder for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.
Personal life
Rufer is the son of former international New Zealand player ...
was made vice-captain. On 18 August, it was announced that Phoenix had paid an undisclosed fee for
Reno Piscopo
Reno Piscopo (born 27 May 1998) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Newcastle Jets in the Australian A-League.
Early life
Piscopo was born in Melbourne, Australia to an Italian father and Maltese mother.
Club ...
, marking the first time the club paid a transfer fee for a player.
Talay also made a handful of signings of young Australian players including
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
,
Jaushua Sotirio
Jaushua James Elie Sotirio (born 11 October 1995) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
Club career Western Sydney Wanderers
Sotirio began his professional career at West ...
,
Cameron Devlin,
Liam McGing
Liam McGing (born 11 December 1998) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Sydney United 58 in the National Premier Leagues NSW.
Professional career
On 21 May 2019, McGing made his professional debut in the 2 ...
,
and experienced centre-back
Luke DeVere.
Talay used his fourth import spot signing
Matti Steinmann
Matti Steinmann (born 8 January 1995) is a Finnish-German professional Association football, footballer who last played as a midfielder for Brisbane Roar FC, Brisbane Roar in the A-League Men, A-League.
Club career Hamburger SV
Steinmann is a y ...
on a one-year deal.
Talay had a positive start to his managerial tenure with the Wellington Phoenix when he led them to a 7–0 victory over
Wairarapa United
Wairarapa United is a Association football, football club based in Masterton, New Zealand and are currently competing in the Central Premier League, Central League.
Club history
The club was formed by the merger of Masterton (soccer), Masterton ...
in a pre-season friendly in his first match in charge.
They were knocked-out of the
2019 FFA Cup in the Round of 32, losing 4–2 on penalties to
Brisbane Strikers
Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of tw ...
, after making an extraordinary comeback from 2-0 down to a 2–2 draw at full time.
On 22 May 2021, Wellington Phoenix broke their home attendance record, attracting 24,105 spectators against
Western United FC
Western United Football Club is an Australian professional football club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Truganina, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the regi ...
. This game (as of 22 May), is the
2020/21 Hyundai A-League's most attended game. This was the first A-League game to be held in New Zealand since 15 March 2020, a total of 433 days in between.
Colours and badge
The general consensus among Phoenix fans was for a
kit featuring yellow and black vertical stripes; however, this format did not comply with the A-League template required by
Reebok
Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
when Phoenix was admitted into the League. Instead, players wore a predominantly black strip with yellow and white trim for the first two seasons. When Reebok lifted constraints on kit designs in 2009, Phoenix adopted yellow and black vertical stripes. The Phoenix kit is currently provided by Paladin after
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
decided against renewing their contract with the club. The badge is a shield depicting a rising
phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
.
The team's current kit sponsors are
KPMG
KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
(front of kit),
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
(back of shirt), GoMedia (front of shorts), and Revera (back of shorts).
In August 2017, the club unveiled a new badge removing the shield in place of a larger, simplified phoenix. The updated badge also featured the club's new motto of 'E Rere Te Keo', a rising call rooted in the
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
legend of
Taniwha
In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves).
They may be considered highly respected ...
.
Stadium
![Westpac Stadium Crowd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Westpac_Stadium_Crowd.jpg)
Wellington Phoenix FC has played most of its home matches at the
Wellington Regional Stadium
Wellington Regional Stadium (known commercially as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is .
The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situ ...
(currently named Sky Stadium for sponsorship reasons), which is referred to as the 'Ring of Fire' by fans. The stadium has a capacity of 34,500.
The NZD$130 million stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situated close to major transport facilities (such as
Wellington railway station
Wellington railway station, or Wellington Central station, is the main railway station serving Wellington, New Zealand, and is the southern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line.
The station opened in ...
) one kilometre north of the central business district.
The stadium is owned and operated by Wellington Regional Stadium Trust. It is built on surplus-to-requirements reclaimed railway land on Wellington's waterfront.
Home fans sit in the southern and western areas of the stadium, while away fans sit to the north.
In the 2009–2010 A-League season, Wellington Phoenix FC played two home games away from
Sky Stadium, the first at
Arena Manawatu
Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
It has three linked indoor stadiums ...
in
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
, the second at
AMI Stadium in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. The two games were key to Wellington Phoenix expanding their fan base in New Zealand. This was followed by playing a game 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 ...
at
Eden Park
Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...
in front of 20,078 attendees during the 2011–2012 A-League season.
The Phoenix previously trained at
Newtown Park
Newtown Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, owned and managed by Wellington City Council. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer) matches in winter, and athletic events in summer. Newtown Park is the primary at ...
, on a ground that was specially redeveloped in 2008 and separate to the playing pitch. This ground was shared with
NZFC
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 ...
franchise,
Team Wellington
Team Wellington Football Club was a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington, New Zealand. They competed in the ISPS Handa Premiership. Team Wellington had traditionally been one of the most succe ...
however in 2017 the Phoenix moved to Martin Luckie Park which had been redeveloped with two full-sized sand-based pitches. Funding for the redevelopment came from the Phoenix as well as $550,000 given by
Wellington City Council
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...
.
Due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in both
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and Australia, the Wellington Phoenix based themselves in
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...
and played home games at
Win Stadium
Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawa ...
for the
2020–21 A-League season. Wellington returned to Wollongong for the
2021–22 A-League season and again played their home games at
Win Stadium
Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawa ...
.
Supporters
![Crowd at WPX vs MBV game on 26 August 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Crowd_at_WPX_vs_MBV_game_on_26_August_2007.jpg)
Wellington Phoenix has built a strong fan-base in Wellington, across New Zealand, and amongst
New Zealanders in Australia
New Zealand Australians refers to Australian citizens whose origins are in New Zealand, as well as New Zealand migrants and expatriates based in Australia. Migration from New Zealand to Australia is a common phenomenon, given Australia's proximit ...
. The main
supporters' group, named the Yellow Fever, was founded a day after the Wellington Phoenix's formation was announced. Yellow Fever founder Mike Greene met with the founder of New Zealand cricket supporter group, the
Beige Brigade
The Beige Brigade is a group of colourful and passionate New Zealand sport fans who identify themselves by wearing beige colours. A version of this beige uniform was worn by the New Zealand limited overs cricket team during the early 1980s (in cont ...
, to get ideas of how to get the group started. The name was originally chosen on the assumption that the new Wellington-based team would play in a yellow playing strip (yellow being the dominant sporting colour of the region). Although the eventual strip was primarily black, the Yellow Fever elected to retain the name; many Yellow Fever members chose to wear yellow to fixtures as opposed to black. The 'Fever Zone' is located within aisles 21 and 22 of
Sky Stadium; although it is an all-seater facility, most Yellow Fever members choose to stand in front of their seat – similar to
terrace seating traditions in British football.
The Yellow Fever are renowned within the A-League for their traditions; the most prominent of which being if the Phoenix are winning by the 80th minute, members remove their shirts.
Additionally, prior to the last home game before Christmas, the Yellow Fever organise a
pub crawl
A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session.
Background
Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates a ...
, entitled ''The 12 Pubs of Lochhead'' after defender
Tony Lochhead
Tony James Lochhead (born 12 January 1982) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who appeared with the New Zealand national football team.
Early life and education
Lochhead was born on 12 January 1982 in Tauranga, New Zealand. He w ...
.
Many Yellow Fever members have also lent their support to other football fixtures in Wellington and New Zealand, mostly notably
Team Wellington
Team Wellington Football Club was a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington, New Zealand. They competed in the ISPS Handa Premiership. Team Wellington had traditionally been one of the most succe ...
of the
ISPS Handa Premiership and the
New Zealand national football team
The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football ...
.
Yellow Fever also lent its support to the
New Zealand women's national under-17 football team
The New Zealand women's Under-17 Football Team, informally known as the 'Young Football Ferns', is the representative team for New Zealand in international Under-17 association football tournaments. The Young Football Ferns were the host team for ...
during the
2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, held in New Zealand.
The Yellow Fever website
yellowfever.co.nz has evolved into a community page for New Zealand football in general. The site publishes non-Phoenix news involving football at local and national levels, as well as information on all New Zealand national teams and footballers.
The former official
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
of Yellow Fever, 'Phoenix City', is hosted by Patrick Barnes, and features Cameron McIntosh and Andrew French as panellists. The weekly recording often includes a guest interview and covers the Wellington Phoenix, the
All Whites
The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...
and other national teams, New Zealanders playing overseas, the
ISPS Handa Premiership, and local club football, including the
Chatham Cup
The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auck ...
.
![Phoenix fan in Algeria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Phoenix_fan_in_Algeria.jpg)
The Yellow Fever supporters share a strong relationship with the club due to their charity initiatives. Yellow Fever is the first supporters club in the A-League to organise and sponsor an annual footballing scholarship. The "Retro Ricki Youth Scholarship" was awarded annually to a promising young New Zealand footballer. Nominations for the scholarship were made by Yellow Fever members, and the recipient was chosen by the Yellow Fever executive and Wellington Phoenix staff. The recipient received a trial with the Phoenix, covering travel and accommodation costs. Although the initiative only lasted four seasons, the scholarship is widely credited with bringing New Zealand international
Marco Rojas
Marco Rodrigo Rojas (born 5 November 1991) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chilean side Colo-Colo and the New Zealand national team.
During his time in the A-League with Melbourne Victory, Rojas was dubb ...
professional attention.
* 2007: Stefan Kousoulas,
Otago United
Southern United, previously known as Otago United, is a semi-professional football club based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Founded in 2004, they play their home games at the Logan Park and Forsyth Barr Stadium. It is the southernmost football clu ...
* 2008: Daniel Findlay,
Three Kings United
Three Kings United Football Club is a youth football club based in Three Kings, Auckland, New Zealand. They previously competed in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1, with their last appearance coming in 2019.
In 2020, Three Kings United m ...
* 2009:
Marco Rojas
Marco Rodrigo Rojas (born 5 November 1991) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chilean side Colo-Colo and the New Zealand national team.
During his time in the A-League with Melbourne Victory, Rojas was dubb ...
,
Melville United
Melville United AFC is an amateur football club in Melville, Hamilton, New Zealand. It competes in the Northern League.
History
The club was formed in 1996 from the merger of Melville AFC (founded 1972) and Waikato United (founded 1988). The ...
* 2010: Thomas Spragg,
Auckland City FC
Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in bo ...
, and Tristan Prattley,
Otago United
Southern United, previously known as Otago United, is a semi-professional football club based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Founded in 2004, they play their home games at the Logan Park and Forsyth Barr Stadium. It is the southernmost football clu ...
Yellow Fever members have also combined charity campaigns with their support of the Phoenix, with supporters selling bandannas in the club colours every year as part of the youth-cancer charity
CanTeen's "Bandana Day" fundraiser. Yellow Fever members have also notably participated in the
Movember
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...
movement since 2007, leading to the club itself participating as of 2008, and other Australian A-League clubs following suit in 2009.
In 2010, Yellow Fever,
The Dominion Post and local sportswear chain RYOS teamed up to release the "LifeFlight Shirt", a white T-shirt emblazoned with pictures of Phoenix players sent into the Dominion Post as part of a competition. 25% of the proceeds from the sale of these T-shirts were donated to the LifeFlight air ambulance service.
Players
First-team squad
Other players with first-team appearances
Reserves and youth academy
Wellington Phoenix's academy system was formed in 2013, absorbing the prolific
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
-based Asia-Pacific Football Academy. Since then, Wellington Phoenix have developed a number of notable players, including several New Zealand internationals.
The following players graduated from the Wellington Phoenix Football Academy, and have either represented New Zealand at international level or have played at a professional level outside New Zealand.
*
Tyler Boyd
*
Eugenio Pizzuto
Eugenio Pizzuto Puga (born 13 May 2002) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga 3 club Braga B.
Club career Early career
Born in San Luis Potosí, Pizzuto was first spotted at the age of 12 in 2013 by scout J ...
*
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
*
Sarpreet Singh
Sarpreet Singh (born 20 February 1999) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Jahn Regensburg, on loan from Bayern Munich II. He also represents the New Zealand national team.
Born in New Zealan ...
*
Liberato Cacace
Liberato Gianpaolo Cacace ( ; born 27 September 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Empoli and the New Zealand national team.
Club career Island Bay
As a youth, Cacace played for Island Bay Unite ...
*
James McGarry James McGarry may refer to:
* James McGarry (hurler)
* James McGarry (footballer)
{{hndis, McGarry, James ...
*
Logan Rogerson
*
Joe Bell
*
Max Mata
Max Andrew Mata (born 10 July 2000) is a New Zealand professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for League Of Ireland club Sligo Rovers and the New Zealand national football team, New Zeal ...
*
Oliver Whyte
Oliver Edward Brymer Whyte (born 20 January 2000) is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a midfielder for Finnish club Haka.
Career
In 2018, Whyte joined the youth academy of Portuguese side Rio Ave from the Wellington Phoenix academy. In 2 ...
Club officials
Technical staff
Management
:''Updated 26 March 2019.''
Captaincy history
Managers
Key
* Caretaker appointment
* Initial caretaker appointments promoted to full-time manager
* Manager dates, statistics and nationalities are sourced from ''WorldFootball.net'' and ''Ultimatealeague.com''
Women's team
In June 2020, Wellington Phoenix announced their desire in creating a women's team before the
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup as part of a
A-League Women plan of adding three expansion clubs by the said period and in September 2021, they announced the newly created team would be joining the A-League as an expansion starting with the
2021–22 season. This made Phoenix the first women's professional football team from New Zealand.
Honours
Cups
*
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was an annual soccer tournament held for all A-League clubs in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. ...
** ''Runners-up'':
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
End-of-season awards
Records and statistics
Player
* Most League appearances: 273,
Andrew Durante
Andrew James Durante (born 3 May 1982 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a retired New Zealand international footballer. He is currently the Player Welfare and Development Manager at Western United while also working as a Senior Academy Assistant ...
* Most appearances in a single season: 31,
Chris Greenacre
Christopher Mark Greenacre (born 23 December 1977) is an English football manager and former footballer, he is the head coach of the Wellington Phoenix FC Reserves.
Greenacre began his career with Manchester City in 1996. Whilst at Maine Ro ...
,
2010–11
* All-time leading goalscorer: 51,
Roy Krishna
Roy Krishna (born 30 August 1987) is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC and the Fiji national team.
Club career
Early career
Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship ...
* Most goals in a season: 18,
Roy Krishna
Roy Krishna (born 30 August 1987) is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC and the Fiji national team.
Club career
Early career
Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship ...
,
2018–19 (26 appearances)
Team
* First
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
match: v
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
, 26 August 2007 (drew 2–2)
* First goalscorer:
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
v
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
, 26 August 2007
* First win: v.
Sydney FC, 14 September 2007 (won 2–1)
* Biggest victory:
**6–0 v
Gold Coast United
Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first era of Gold Coast Unit ...
, 25 October 2009
**8–2 v
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...
, 9 March 2019
* Biggest defeat:
**7–1 v
Sydney FC, 19 January 2013
**6–0 v
Melbourne City, 2 April 2022
* Most wins in a row: 5 matches; 30 January 2010 – 7 March 2010
* Most losses in a row: 9 matches; 20 March 2016 – 31 October 2016
* Highest
home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
attendance: 32,792 v
Newcastle United Jets on 7 March 2010
* Highest regular season attendance: 24,105 v
Western United
Western United Football Club is an Australian professional football club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Truganina, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the region ...
at
Sky Stadium,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
on 22 May 2021
* Highest friendly attendance: 31,853 v
Los Angeles Galaxy
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...
on 1 December 2007
* Highest average attendance in a season: 11,683 –
2007–08 season
* Lowest
home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
attendance: 3,898 v
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues.
Founded in 199 ...
on 8 January 2012
Season by season record
See also
*
New Zealand Football
New Zealand Football is the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand. It oversees the seven New Zealand Football federations, as well as the New Zealand national football team (nicknamed the "All Whites"), the nationa ...
*
Football Kingz FC
The Football Kingz were New Zealand's first professional football club. They played in the Australian National Soccer League from 1999 until their disestablishment in 2004, when they were replaced by the New Zealand Knights as an inaugural parti ...
*
New Zealand Knights FC
New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-Leagu ...
*ASB Phoenix Challenge
References
External links
*
{{Sport in Wellington
A-League Men teams
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
Association football clubs established in 2007
Expatriated football clubs
Sport in Wellington City
2007 establishments in New Zealand
Phoenix clubs (association football)