Latest news with #Premier'sPlate
NZ Herald
27-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Auckland FC's Steve Corica named A-League Coach of the Year
By RNZ Steve Corica has been named A-League Coach of the Year after steering Auckland FC to the Premier's Plate in their maiden season in the football league. The premiership winners fell at the season's penultimate hurdle on Saturday night, when they lost
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Sky NZ Originals Teams Up With Reality TV Legend Dame Julie Christie & Auckland FC For An All-Access Series
Press Release – Sky New Zealand All access, all action, all drama – Forever Auckland FC! 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.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
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.
Scoop
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Football: The One Trophy Auckland FC Have No Chance Of Winning
Auckland FC have learned who their opponents are in the A-League playoff semi-finals as they bid for an unprecedented double trophy win. Success in a potential Grand Final would follow a Premier's Plate triumph in their debut campaign. But despite the possibility of a silverware-laden first season, there's one trophy the Black Knights may never get their hands on. In the same week Inter Milan and Barcelona played out an all-time classic in the UEFA Champions League semi-final, it's perhaps clearer than ever to Auckland that continental success in the AFC or OFC Champions League is simply out of reach. As a New Zealand side playing in a predominantly Australian league, Auckland find themselves in a strange limbo when it comes to continental representation. Australia, despite their proximity to Aotearoa, are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). That makes the AFC Champions League the ultimate goal for A-League sides. However, New Zealand remains in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), with the All Whites, Football Ferns and New Zealand National League operating under OFC's framework. As New Zealand-based sides, Auckland and the Wellington Phoenix are therefore ineligible for the AFC Champions League Elite. Just over a week ago Saudi champions Al-Ahli, with a side captained by Roberto Firmino, won the AFC Champions League Elite against Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in front of 60,000 fans in Jeddah. Not only did they take home the USD $10 million prize, the result also means they advance to the FIFA Club World Cup and another lucrative pay day. It's a reality the Phoenix know all too well. In 2020, after finishing third in the regular season, Phoenix's AFC Champions League play-off spot was handed to fourth-placed Brisbane Roar instead - though Covid-19 ultimately scuppered their involvement anyway. The premise of a team from outside a confederation playing in a league governed by it has always been a delicate one for the AFC. In 2009, tensions rose when the AFC briefly insisted Football Federation Australia count Kiwi players within the five allocated foreign player slots for the Phoenix. The incentive? A potential pathway to the AFC Champions League Elite. But the move would have called the club's future into question, essentially forcing them to become an Australian team with only a sprinkling of New Zealanders. Curiously, this came just after the All Whites had qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Bahrain, an AFC power-broker's expense - fuelling terrace chatter of unfounded conspiracies. Ultimately, it was a storm in a teacup, but it highlighted the uneasy alliance between governing bodies. It's an alliance Auckland have now joined, and they'll be loath to poke the bear - leaving Melbourne City, runners-up in the A-League regular season, to take Auckland's place in next season's AFC Champions League Elite. What about the OFC, then? They do have a Champions League of their own, one New Zealand sides have dominated since Australia's abdication in 2006. But for Auckland and the Phoenix, that door is firmly shut too. The OFC Champions League is open only to top teams from New Zealand's non-professional National League. As professional clubs, Auckland and the Phoenix are ineligible. Even their reserve sides, which compete in the domestic league, cannot qualify, as per NZF's National League regulations. Just last weekend, Auckland FC Reserves beat 13-time OFC Champions League winners Auckland City in the National League's regional phase - but no matter their success, the continental route remains closed. Auckland and the Phoenix now stand as the only two professional football clubs in the world that are ineligible to play in any continental club competition. That global distinction is important, as it also bars them from a potentially lucrative place in the revamped FIFA Club World Cup. That could change with the launch of the OFC Pro League. But after early interest in including Auckland and the Phoenix, the federation now appears to have cooled on the idea - particularly if it involved reserve teams, or as OFC secretary-general Franck Castillo labelled them in February, "B-teams." So while a historic domestic double may be within reach for Auckland FC, it seems likely they'll never grasp continental gold unless there's a dramatic shift in football's regional dynamics. Perhaps that's simply the price of having professional football in Aotearoa.
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Football round-up: Contrasting futures for Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix
The seasons couldn't have been more of a contrast. Photo: PHOTOSPORT So that's it. Another A-League Men regular season has concluded and, for the first time, two sides from New Zealand have battled it out with various trans-Tasman rivals for the past six months. But what comes next for Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix is a demonstration in polar contrast. Auckland finished their regular season with a 4-2 defeat to Western United, which should take no gloss off an incredible debut campaign. This was just the Black Knights' third loss of the season as they claimed the Premier's Plate at the first attempt. Now, they enter the A-League finals series in hopes of an unprecedented debut double. This upcoming weekend will determine their opponents. Weekend conquerors Western United face Adelaide United, while Western Sydney Wanderers take on Melbourne Victory in the Elimination Finals and the lowest ranked team who advances will face Auckland in the semi-finals. Auckland FC Manager Steve Corica celebrates with the A-League Premier Plate, 2025. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Semi Finals (Leg 1), Saturday 17 May - TBC v Auckland FC Semi Finals (Leg 2), Saturday 24 May - Auckland FC v TBC Grand Final, Saturday 31 May - Kick off time TBC Steve Corica's men will take the weekend's loss as a much-needed wake-up call. Nobody in the final six is going to lie down and allow Auckland to add another piece of silverware to a trophy cabinet so fresh it's probably still flatpacked somewhere. Auckland will need to find their best form to get through three more crucial ties in a remarkable fledgling season. As for the Wellington Phoenix, the forecast for the coming weeks and months is much less promising. A weekend loss to Perth Glory means the Phoenix finish the A-League season bottom of the form table and, after suffering a defeat to Brisbane Roar last weekend, they have jut lost to the two teams who have finished below them in the ladder. Giancarlo Italiano Photo: photosport It's certainly not the same feeling as 12 months ago, when the Phoenix were looking to secure success in the finals series. However, a summer of pillaging left them with a tough rebuild while the arrival of their noisy northern neighbours has taken the shimmer of a clu who have been flying the flag for Kiwi football for nearly two decades. Another summer of change looks likely. Senior leadership has decided to stand by Giancarlo Italiano and that's the right decision. Chiefy has credit in the bank from last year and has done his best with a side that lost several key players. Kosta Barbarouses of the Phoenix Photo: PHOTOSPORT That looks likely again. Scott Wootton and Sam Sutton are heading over to join Oli Sail at Perth and the club are sweating on the future of star striker Kosta Barbarouses. Keeping as many of their bright sparks will be key as will a summer of recruitment where the Phoenix need to get things right to improve the first-team squad. Before all that, there's the small task of an Australia Cup play-off against the Roar on May 14. This involves a trip to Australia's Northern Territory to give Darwin a taste of A-League football. So while Auckland prepare for the biggest matches in their short history, the Phoenix are left to rebuild once again. Two Kiwi clubs heading in very different directions for now, but both with plenty to play for. Whether it's silverware or a solid rebuild, whatever happens next, New Zealand's presence in the A-League is bigger than ever. In other football news: Liverpool's title celebrations left them blowing cold for a meeting with Champions League chasing Chelsea whose enigmatic star Cole Palmer put them to the sword in a 3-1 loss. The Reds also saw confirmation that right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving in the off-season, seemingly bound for Real Madrid. Manchester United lost another thriller, this time going down 4-3 to Brentford, with a shot at Europa League glory firmly in their mind. They face Spain's Athletic Club with a 3-0 advantage in midweek with a potential all-English final on the cards with Tottenham Hotspur leading Bodo Glimt 3-1 in the other tie. The four teams who are set to battle for Premier League football in the Championship play-offs are now confirmed. Sheffield United, Sunderland, Coventry City and Bristol City will be the quartet of teams vying for the third promotion slot.
