The Football Ferns kick off another highly active year in the New Zealand women's footballing calendar this week as they contest the Four Nations Cup in Guangzhou, China. It's the first of, at this stage, two international tournaments in which our flagship female footballers will be performing in 2009, a year which marks the return of the National Women's League after a one-year hiatus, and an increased emphasis on club football. Captain Hayley Moorwood and her colleagues are very much looking forward to the opportunity to reproduce their international form at club level throughout the season, every bit as much as the elite clubs are relishing the return of their international stars, whose all-too-frequent absences from league and cup fixtures in recent campaigns has seen resources stretched to breaking point at times, particularly in 2007 and 2008. Before that opportunity avails itself for our silver fern-wearers, however, there's the little matter of some silverware to win, at the expense of the 2009 UEFA Women's Championships hosts, an Asian team which recently drew 0-0 with the USA, and the country which welcomed the world to Beijing and environs just five months ago. First introduced in 1998, the Four Nations Cup - also known as the China Quadrangular Tournament - has been an annual feature of the women's footballing calendar since 2002, with China introducing the competition to assist their preparations for future FIFA Women's World Cup Finals and Olympic Women's Football Tournaments. The USA have won the trophy six times since its inception, with Norway (2002) and China themselves (in 2005) the only countries to break their monopoly. The reigning Olympic champions won't be in Guangzhou this time, however, with last year's wooden-spooners Finland joining first-time contenders Korea Republic and the Football Ferns at the tournament now regarded by the global women's footballing fraternity as the year's traditional “ice-breaker”. Tradition is something which Football Ferns coach John Herdman has habitually broken with since he was appointed to the top job in the game in this country, so it came as little surprise to those who appreciate his selection strategy that he has taken the chance to blood four newcomers to top-flight international football in this three-match round-robin competition. Anyone who suggests that Sarah McLaughlin, Liz Milne, Hannah Wall and Rosie White don't deserve the chance to test themselves against some of the world's elite after their efforts throughout FIFA's age-grade Women's World Cup Finals last year must have been hibernating on another planet when Chile 08 and NZ 08 took place! The quartet will make their full New Zealand debuts on this tour, with one of them set to become the 150th player to represent the national team in its 36-year history, as Herdman looks to the future once more. “This is a unique tour, and is similar to when took a young Football Ferns team to China on Allan Jones' behalf in November 2006. The vision then, and now, is with a long-term viewpoint in mind - have a

look at the newcomers now so we can assess their strengths at this level, as well as areas where they can develop. “A lot of these players will be in the frame for 2011 (the World Cup in Germany) and 2012 (the London Olympics). So we're going to make sure these young players, and others, get their chance, and give them a taste of what it's like to play against the Chinas of this world - it'll be an interesting experience for them. “The future for New Zealand women's football, if it is to keep progressing, is recognising technically strong players - having the physical qualities and attributes necessary to play the game these days is a given. If they're good enough, they'll play”. A proud Newcastle United fan, Herdman openly admitted to putting off this chat for as long as possible after his team's generous contribution to a certain festive season fixture, about which he's still smarting! But mention of SPARC's pre-Christmas acknowledgement of New Zealand women's football, in the form of $725,000 over four years, soon restored his positive tone. “I'm over the moon with SPARC's support. It puts us in a new space, and is testament to the hard work a lot of people have put in over the last five years”, says the national coach. “The key to it was the Olympics performance - it tipped the people at SPARC that this team, with 3-4 years' preparation, could get somewhere. “We've been operating on a shoestring, and this additional money should help push us towards our long-term goals. It pales alongside the monies spent in other nations - Australia is ploughing a further $A10m into women's football, for instance, on top of the $A15m they've already invested … “We must make sure every dollar gets accounted for, and is spent wisely. We plan to get the girls in good environments and good tournaments, while ensuring they arrive at the elite events with the right number of caps - the right amount of international experience - to call upon”. Among those tournaments is the Cyprus Cup, an eight-team event in March for which Herdman, upon returning from China, will name an extended thirty-strong squad. “We are front-loading the international programme during the first quarter of this year, peaking for the Cyprus Cup. “Following this, the players will return to their club environment from April, but every three weeks we'll bring them in for a couple of sessions at national level, to keep tabs on their progress. “This year and next presents us with a real opportunity to get out there and develop the domestic scene, to spend a greater percentage of our time and efforts focused around the club environment, and the development of players in wider environments. “The senior players will add lots of zest to the club scene, and can focus their attention on being the best club players in New Zealand. We'll be working through individual programmes with individual players, who now know the level of work they have to commit to, and are developing a psyche aimed at achieving that goal”. There is another competition in March which is set to have a big impact on women's football the world over - the introduction of Women's Professional

Soccer in the USA. “Four or five of our players could be playing in the WPS by 2011-2012, such is their quality”, says Herdman. Some of those prospective Kiwi professionals are focused on more pressing matters right now, however, with a non-cap-earning training game against Korea Republic on Thursday allowing the Football Ferns to experiment with a new playing system prior to an opening round Four Nations Cup clash with China on Sunday from 1am. The squad (with club, caps and goals in brackets): Hayley Moorwood (Lynn-Avon United, captain; 38, 3) Jenny Bindon (Waitakere City; 29, 0)      Caitlin Campbell (Glenfield Rovers; 2, 0) Aroon Clansey (Three Kings United; 1, 0) Abby Erceg (Western Springs; 30, 2) Anna Green (Three Kings United; 12, 1) Betsy Hassett (Three Kings United; 2, 0) Amber Hearn (Lynn-Avon United; 15, 2) Kristy Hill (Three Kings United; 4, 0) Katie Hoyle (Lynn-Avon United; 18, 0) Emma Kete (Lynn-Avon United; 17, 3) Annalie Longo (Three Kings United; 15, 0) Sarah McLaughlin (Claudelands Rovers; 0, 0) Liz Milne (Western Springs; 0, 0) Ria Percival (Lynn-Avon United; 30, 2) Hannah Wall (Western Springs; 0, 0) Rosie White (Western Springs; 0, 0) Kirsty Yallop (Lynn-Avon United; 22, 7) Staff: John Herdman, Coach; Tony Readings, Technical Analyst; Julie Hogg, Manager; Brad Conza, Sports Science; Meridy Boyd-Clark, Physiotherapist Schedule (all times NZ) Korea Republic, 8th January (training) China, 11th January, 1am Korea Republic, 12th January, 10pm Finland, 14th January, 10pm W-League trio Rebecca Smith (Newcastle Jets), Marlies Oostdam and Rebecca Tegg (Melbourne Victory) weren't considered for this squad, due to their clubs' potential semi-final commitments at the time of the squad's announcement. Only Smith's team has progressed to the last four - she'll be in action against Canberra United at EnergyAustralia Stadium from 6pm on Saturday, NZ time. Also missing out on selection, due to her study commitments at Stanford University, is Ali Riley. But she is one of five Football Ferns named among the fifteen nominees for the inaugural Oceania Football Confederation's Women's Player of the Year award, the winner of which will be announced in April. Based on performances from July 2007 to the end of 2008, the new award reflects the growth of the women's game in Oceania, culminating in New Zealand's hosting of and impressive displays in the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Finals. It would be a major surprise if the winner didn't emerge from the five Kiwi contenders, namely Annalie Longo, Hayley Moorwood, Ali Riley, Rosie White and Kirsty Yallop. Chris Killen, Ryan Nelsen and Shane Smeltz are the New Zealand internationals among the final nominees for the 2008 OFC Men's Player of the Year award. Prior to Christmas, Nelsen and Smeltz were respectively named as retrospective winners of the award for 2006 and 2007.