History

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" LINK="#FFCC99" ALINK="#009D74" VLINK="#FF9966"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website</B></FONT>     |   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id657.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Roll of Honour"><U>Roll of Honour</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id659.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Individual Honours"><U>Individual Honours</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id658.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SWANZ Appearances"><U>SWANZ Appearances</U></A>   |   <B>History</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04658020.gif" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> History</div> <div> A History Of New Zealand Women’s Soccer</div> <div> by Jeremy Ruane</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="602" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 5780 WIDTH="596"><div> To describe the earliest days of women's soccer in New Zealand as a little like a fairy tale would be a bit of an understatement!</div> <bR> <div> The game was played on a purely social basis in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but the creation of organised competitions in both Wellington and Auckland saw both provinces up and running with their own leagues by the start of the 1973 season.</div> <bR> <div> The obvious next step was to form a national association, but the feeling emanating from the rivalry between the two North Island provinces meant that procrastination prevailed until early 1975, when the Northern (Auckland) Women's Football Association received an airmail letter.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The 1975 Asian Cup champions</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="2657c0d0.jpg" border=0 width="380" height="269" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <div> It was an invitation from the Asian Ladies Confederation, offering New Zealand the chance to participate in the Asian Cup. However, to do so, the country had to have its own national body to administer the sport.</div> <bR> <div> The Canterbury association had also set up a women's competition by this time, so with Northern and Wellington still agreeing to disagree on numerous issues, the former, in tandem with Canterbury, formed the New Zealand Women's Football Association, with Wellington given a provisional affiliation to satisfy the requirements of the Asian Confederation's invitation.</div> <bR> <div> A squad was selected following a meeting between the Association's President, Roy Cox, Dave Farrington (coach), Marilyn Marshall and Debbie Leonidas (two Wellington players, by then the dominant province on the field). </div> <bR> <div> Roy's wife, Barbara, was chosen to captain the squad, with other names of note selected including Carol Waller (now New Zealand's Chairman), Kathy Hall (now New Zealand's Under-19 coach) and Nora Watkins (a former coach of the national side).</div> <bR> <div> New Zealand flew to Hong Kong for the tournament, and, against all the odds, won the Asian Cup. En route, they defeated the host nation 2-0, Malaysia 3-0, Australia 3-2, and, in the final, Thailand 3-1. Marshall was the first player to find the net for the newest member of the women's soccer world, and finished the tournament with six goals to her name.</div> <bR> <div> With the silverware the centre of attention at the NZWFA's inaugural Annual General Meeting on October 11, 1975, it was decided that a national tournament be contested annually between affiliated provincial associations, beginning in 1976 with a tournament in Canterbury.</div> <bR> <div> The passing of time saw the NZWFA accepted as a bona fide affiliate of the New Zealand Football Association, and in July 1979, it became an incorporated society. In 1991, the association underwent a name change, becoming the Women's Soccer Association of New Zealand (WSANZ, or SWANZ, for marketing and promotional purposes).</div> <bR> <div> New Zealand's next international involvement came about in 1979, with a three-test series in Australia for the Trans-Tasman Cup. The trophy was shared, but the Australians claimed it outright a year later when they crossed the Tasman Sea for the return series. In 1981, in a one-off test in Auckland, Australia retained the silverware.</div> <bR> <div> Soon after, New Zealand competed in the first World Women's Invitational Tournament in Taiwan, the forerunner to today's FIFA Women's World Championship. Six wins and a draw from their eight matches that October saw the Kiwis finish second in Taiwan, their one loss being to the tournament winners, West Germany.</div> <bR> <div> Following two losses to Taiwan in 1982, a major event took place later in the year, with New Zealand being one of the four founder members of the Oceania Women's Football Association, the other nations involved being Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. </div> <bR> <div> At the inaugural meeting, it was decided that the Oceania Nations Cup be contested every three years, with invitations extended to countries in the South Pacific region. The first tournament was held in New Caledonia in 1983, and New Zealand, then the region's leading women's soccer-playing nation, confirmed their top seeding by defeating Australia 3-2 in the final.</div> <bR> <div> The second World Women's Invitational Tournament took place in Taiwan in February 1984, and once again, New Zealand were beaten by the eventual winners, West Germany. It was the only goal they conceded all tournament, yet they ended up in fourth place!! </div> <bR> <div> The first age-grade team to represent New Zealand was also in action in September of that year. A New Zealand Under-21 side played a three test series in New Caledonia, and were convincing winners in each encounter.</div> <bR> <div> This was the last time New Zealand would be represented in women's soccer until Easter, 1986, when the Oceania Nations Cup tournament was held in Christchurch. With only Australia and Taiwan taking up the invitations - Papua New Guinea were a late withdrawal, and FIFA had placed Taiwan in the Oceania region as a result of the political tensions afoot on their doorstep - a New Zealand B side was selected, and was narrowly beaten by all three opponents. </div> <bR> <div> The A side also succumbed to both Australia and the eventual tournament winners, Taiwan, and were almost embarrassed by their junior counterparts in the third place play-off, New Zealand A claiming that spot only after a penalty shoot-out.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The 1987 World Women's Invitational Tournament squad</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="267bf470.jpg" border=0 width="447" height="327" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <div> Twenty months elapsed before New Zealand's next foray on the international stage, and following three double-figure wins in an unofficial series against Western Samoa, it was to Taiwan they were destined once again, and the last World Women's Invitational Tournament prior to FIFA's long-awaited recognition of women's soccer in the manner we know today.</div> <bR> <div> This time round, the Germans were joined by Taiwan in celebrating victory over New Zealand, who included among their successes a 1-0 triumph over a team which was soon to take the women's soccer world by force, the USA.</div> <bR> <div> Once again, New Zealand's lot was fourth place, but this time on goal difference - the USA and West Germany also had three wins to show for their efforts, while Taiwan, with five wins, succeeded the Germans as women's soccer's unofficial world champions.</div> <bR> <div> The white shirts were put in mothballs for over a year until Easter 1989, when the third Oceania Nations Cup tournament was held, this time in Australia. New Zealand powered through the round-robin phase, but when it came to the final, against Taiwan, a combination of ill luck and some of mother nature's less welcome elements saw the Asians retain the trophy on the back of a 1-0 win.</div> <bR> <div> The Under-19s were next to represent New Zealand, winning a two-test series against Australia here in 1989, then crossing the Tasman to better our long-standing rivals over three matches two years later.</div> <bR> <div> In between times, the SWANZ, as they were by now known, had taken part in the inaugural Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying series in Australia in May, 1991. After amassing a 16-0 win over Papua New Guinea in their first game of the tournament - to this day New Zealand's record victory - Australia were always going to be hard-pressed to match or better such a winning margin, and so it was that New Zealand qualified for the inaugural FIFA Women's World Championship in November that year.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The 1991 Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying squad</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="45b1e2c0.jpg" border=0 width="542" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <div> Preparations for the World Cup Finals were based around a three-test series against Australia, and two wins and a draw - New Zealand's first series win on home turf - sent the Dave Boardman - coached squad off to China in good heart, this despite being drawn in the hardest group.</div> <bR> <div> As results were to prove. After a 3-0 reversal at the hands of Denmark, Norway went one better two days later, while the host nation condemned New Zealand to a final ranking of eleventh in the twelve nation tournament by handing out a 4-1 hiding. Kim Nye scored our only goal in China.</div> <bR> <div> Being as isolated as New Zealand is on a global scale, attracting quality teams of either gender outside of Oceania to our shores to play our national sides in the current economic climes is an exercise which rarely results in the game benefitting financially. Hence there is more chance of you sighting the SWANZ in your part of the world than we have of seeing them in action here in our own backyard!</div> <bR> <div> That has certainly been the case this decade. In August 1993, the USA invited New Zealand to participate in their CONCACAF tournament, and second place was duly earned. A year later in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, the SWANZ were edged out by Australia on goal difference in the Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying series.</div> <bR> <div> After finishing bottom of their group at India's Gold Cup tournament prior to the World Cup qualifiers, the SWANZ were twice well beaten in Australia in the revived Trans-Tasman Cup series early in 1995. But hopes were revived when two goalless draws in South Korea marked the start of Maurice Tillotson's era as coach of the national side.</div> <bR> <div> New Zealand's most recent international series on home soil took place in Auckland in March, 1996. South Korea and Australia partook in a tri-series, and while the Matildas again held the upper hand in the two clashes with their Oceania neighbours, another goalless draw against South Korea was followed by a 1-0 win over our Asian guests. </div> <bR> <div> Later in the year, a one-off match against a Papua New Guinea side who were en route to a tournament among the smaller Pacific Island nations underlined the need nowadays to take all opposition seriously, no matter how well you may have performed against them in the past. </div> <bR> <div> Five previous internationals against PNG had seen New Zealand amass forty goals against Oceania's third ranked women's soccer-playing nation, without conceding one. So it's fair to say that the 1-1 draw recorded on home turf tops the rankings in a very brief list of shock results in the history of New Zealand women's soccer!!</div> <bR> <div> While the SWANZ have been on the road throughout the 1990s, but with greater infrequency in the latter part of the decade, it must be said, our age-grade teams have also been active, mostly against Australian opposition. The Under-20s won a three-test series on home turf against their Australian counterparts in 1994, but the tables were turned at an International Youth Challenge tournament in Australia a year later, which South Korea and the Australian Secondary Schoolgirls squad also contested.</div> <bR> <div> South Korea proved too strong for New Zealand's Under-20s in 1996, clean-sweeping a three-test series, a similar fate to that which befell our Under-17 side when Australia came visiting in 1995. The current crop of Under-17s enjoyed better fate against the Australian Secondary Schoolgirls late last year, however, winning both matches.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The 1997 Tri-Series squad</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="26d7cc10.jpg" border=0 width="380" height="193" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <div> But it's the SWANZ who are recognised as the 'shop window' side of the code in this country, and their displays against Australia and China, in a tri-series across the Tasman in November 1997, while resulting in defeats,  offered much hope and encouragement for the months ahead.</div> <bR> <div> Following the 'Champions Tour', in which the SWANZ won two matches against Dutch club sides before taking on the European Champions, Germany, and the Olympic Champions, the USA, both twice, the national side took part in the country's National Tournament, the annual battle to determine New Zealand's champion province. Next on the agenda was the Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying series, which took place in Auckland between October 9-17, 1998.</div> <bR> <div> Needless to say, hopes were high that the SWANZ would be making another trip to the USA at the end of this tournament, especially after amassing a world record-equalling 21-0 thrashing of Samoa in the first match of the qualifying series.</div> <bR> <div> But defeat in the qualifying series final against Australia put paid to those dreams, as well as any chance of qualifying for the 2000 Olympic Games tournament in Sydney.</div> <bR> <div> After a hiatus of almost twenty months on the international front - a period of time in which the USA’s Kristine Lilly became the first footballer of either gender to smash through the two hundred barrier, in terms of appearances for her country - the SWANZ were back in action, as the invited nation at the inaugural Pacific Alliance Cup in Australia.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The SWANZ line up before their 2000 Pacific Alliance Cup clash with China, the last time New Zealand's national women's soccer team performed on the international stage (as at 1/12/02).</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="26f7cfb0.jpg" border=0 width="380" height="251" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <div> There, they were narrowly beaten by both Canada and Japan, before copping the expected trouncings from the USA and China, sandwiched in between which was an unwelcome hiding from our trans-tasman rivals.</div> <bR> <div> In 2002, another development took place in the women's game, this time at domestic level. The National Women's Soccer Tournament was consigned to the history books, and was replaced by the National Women's Soccer League, an eight-team round-robin affair, with games being played on a weekly basis, as opposed to the week-long war of attrition which, it's fair to say, the National Tournament was, to some extent.</div> <bR> <div> The league idea was a big hit with the people who matter most - the players, who greatly welcomed the week-long recovery time, amongst other things! The more things change, the more things stay the same, however - another piece of silverware headed to women's soccer's northern stronghold at the conclusion of the inaugural season!!</div> <bR> <div> Women's soccer has come a long way in New Zealand in the last quarter-century or so. After a fairytale beginning, the 1980s saw us glimpse the summit, without ever quite reaching it, at all three World Women's Invitational Tournaments. The 1991 World Cup Finals indicated that our descent was under way. Failing to qualify for Sweden '95 was our nadir.</div> <bR> <div> Our most recent international performances have indicated that there is potential aplenty to rise again, although our ascent will never be of phoenix-like proportions while we compete with such irregularity on the international stage.</div> <bR> <div> Both the Pacific Alliance Cup and the Oceania Women’s World Cup qualifying series should be regarded as important stepping stones in this context, but far more regular international match-play is imperative if the SWANZ are to once again soar towards the summit of the women’s soccer world.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Records"><U>Records</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </BODY>