Sky NZ Originals Teams Up With Reality TV Legend Dame Julie Christie & Auckland FC For An All-Access Series
Sky New Zealand Originals has teamed up with Aotearoa's doyen of reality TV, Dame Julie Christie and her team at NHNZ Worldwide and Auckland FC for Forever Auckland FC, an unprecedented all-access eight-part docuseries taking viewers behind the scenes of A-League football phenomenon, Auckland FC.
Airing on Sky Open, Sky Sport and Neon later this year in the build-up to Auckland FC's second season, nothing is off-limits in this revealing and entertaining insight into the birth of Aotearoa's new headline-grabbing sporting franchise.
Forever Auckland FC will capture all the high stakes drama and passion from long before the first kick off, including the team's recent history-making Premier's Plate victory right through to the forthcoming conclusion of its maiden season.
When entrepreneur Anna Mowbray teamed up with a former All Black, an American billionaire, a multimillionaire shoe entrepreneur, an NBA star and two football legends to buy into her dream of establishing an Auckland based football team to compete in the Trans-Tasman A-League competition, none of them could have predicted the meteoric rise that their bold new franchise would take in its very first year. One season in and it's already been a rollercoaster ride!
Forever Auckland FC is packed with compelling characters who tell their own chapter of this real-life Ted Lasso story, giving viewers insights into the owners' and players' private and professional lives, cut-throat decisions made in both the changing sheds and the boardroom, and the beating heart of Auckland FC, the team's dedicated fan club, The Port.
Sky New Zealand Originals Senior Commissioner Nick Ward says, ' Forever Auckland FC is documentary making at its finest, with larger-than-life characters, unprecedented access and all the excitement of high stakes competitive sports. The popularity of football in New Zealand continues to soar, as demonstrated by Auckland FC's quickly garnered fanbase, and this series feels like the perfect way for Sky – New Zealand's official A-League broadcaster – to celebrate a landmark year of the sport in Aotearoa.'
Producer Dame Julie Christie DNZM of NHNZ Worldwide says, 'Documentaries often claim to be 'all-access' but I don't believe New Zealand sport has seen access like this. It's remarkable. From three months before their first A-League game, we have had unrestricted behind-the-scenes access to the club, management, owners, the dressing sheds and the players. Head coach Steve Corica has worn a radio mic throughout the season and therefore we have 'warts 'n' all' insight that is unprecedented. And it wasn't all about the joy of winning, there were tough times too, and our cameras were there through all of it.'
Auckland FC investor Anna Mowbray says, 'I believe sports fans have been waiting for this sort of insight into the blood, sweat and tears that go into a start-up and success story. It's happy, sad, funny, gritty. We wanted to do it for our fans.'
Majority Auckland FC owner Bill Foley says, 'You can see what I did with the Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team, you see what I've done with AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League, and we're here to win. We're not here for a hobby, we are here to bring a real team to Auckland, and we want to win.'
Auckland FC CEO Nick Becker says, 'From day one, Auckland FC set out to have a deep and real connection to the Auckland community and to the fans. We wanted to do everything we could to show how much we appreciated their loyalty. They deserve to know the true story of Auckland FC, a story they are very much part of, so we welcomed the cameras into the club to capture that, for our community. Having cameras and microphones around all the time does mean that sometimes you feel exposed, but it is worth it for the fans.'
About Sky New Zealand Originals
Sky New Zealand Originalscommissions world-class scripted and non-scripted content with a distinctively New Zealand perspective. We work closely with local funding partners and international collaborators and financiers to support the local production sector by backing a range of producers, both new and established, to tell brave, bold, and beautiful New Zealand stories.
About Sky
Sky is New Zealand's leading entertainment company and home to the best and broadest choice in live sport, movies, shows, documentaries, and news. Sky offers a suite of viewing choices to suit every New Zealander, whether it's through the Sky Box and companion app Sky Go for premium direct-to-home customers, its streaming services Sky Sport Now for sport and Neon for movies and entertainment, or free-to-air on Sky Open.
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