The 2001 season will mark the end of an era in women’s soccer, as Three Kings United won’t be fielding a team in the top division of women’s football in the northern region. Sport Auckland’s Team of the Year in 1999, the team which won an unprecedented three consecutive SWANZ Knockout Cup finals, is, sadly, no more. A combination of retirements, long-term injuries and relocations to other areas of the world in the last couple of years has led to the core group of players, around which one of New Zealand women’s soccer’s most outstanding sides was built, embracing new challenges individually. Supplementing this group were a handful of imported players who were attracted to the club in an effort to raise, or at least maintain the standards of the local game at all levels - club, provincial and, ultimately, international. The philosophy behind their presence did not meet with universal approval, it must be said, but it was done with the best interests of improving the women’s game in this country very much in mind, particularly in light of the lack of exposure the code here receives at international level, compared with other countries. The objective was to encourage the locally-based players to raise their individual and collective standards and expectations of themselves, by way of playing alongside and against players from countries where the development of women’s soccer at all levels has been such that New Zealand, classed in the world’s top five women’s soccer-playing nations less than fifteen years ago, now ranks about fortieth in global terms. The respective contributions of the likes of Pernille Andersen, Jennifer Kelley and Simone Ferrara, allied to such outstanding local talents as Michele Cox, Maia Jackman, Marlies Oostdam and Jane Simpson, helped Three Kings to effectively reset the standards by which all New Zealand women’s club sides will be judged for some considerable time to come. As well as their above-mentioned most noteworthy triumphs, the three-time Central Leader Team of the Year winners claimed two league titles, three knockout triumphs and two Champion-of-Champions trophies in the last four seasons, and set numerous goalscoring records and other statistical achievements of note. Such collective success garnered individual recognition aplenty, both in terms of representative honours and trophies. One of the most pleasing aspects of the team's success was the manner in which they played the game, with their dedication and commitment to striving for excellence on and off the field of play neatly supplemented by their eagerness to play the game with style, flair, and above all, with the emphasis on entertainment and enjoyment for players and spectators alike.