Women's football timeline

This timeline covers some of the key events and major players in the history of women’s football (soccer) in New Zealand.

It was compiled to mark the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand between 20 July and 20 August 2023. It was the most-attended standalone women’s sporting event in history and, in terms of international audience, the biggest sporting event ever held in New Zealand.

Timeline

1863

• The (English men’s) Football Association (FA) is established and ratifies the rules of the game.

1872

• The first recognised (men’s) international football match, between Scotland and England, ends in a scoreless draw.

1881

• Teams representing England and Scotland play the first known international women’s football matches.

1888

• The (men’s) Football League is established in England.

1890

First known interprovincial football match in New Zealand (Papers Past)

• Canterbury and Otago men play the first known interprovincial football match in New Zealand.

1891

• The New Zealand (men’s) Football Association (NZFA) is established.

1904

• New Zealand men play their first international football match, against New South Wales.

1915-1917

Polytechnic women’s football team, 1917

• ‘Carnival’ women’s football matches are played in North Otago to raise funds for the war effort.

1921

• Women’s clubs are formed in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
• Teams from Wellington club Aotea Ladies play each other as the curtain-raiser to a Brown Shield (men’s interprovincial competition) fixture at the Basin Reserve.
• The first women’s interprovincial football match ends Canterbury 1 Wellington 0.
• The English FA bans women from playing on football pitches under the control of member clubs, arguing that ‘the game is not fitted for females’. This policy is soon adopted in New Zealand.

1922

Aotea Ladies' Club playing football (Te Ara)

• Aotea Ladies travel to Masterton and beat a local side 3–0.
• New Zealand men win their first international series, against Australia, in New Zealand.

1923

• The Chatham Cup knockout men’s club competition is contested for the first time.

1948

• The NZFA is affiliated to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

1959

Mount Wellington versus Point Chevalier, 1959 (Te Ara)

• Mount Wellington women play Point Chevalier women in a charity fundraiser at Blandford Park, Auckland.

1961

• Mount Wellington women play Manurewa women.

1962

• Mount Wellington women players ask the club committee for permission to form a regular team. Their request is not granted until 1970.

1966

• The NZFA is a founding member of the Oceania Football Confederation.

1970

• The Mount Wellington women’s team makes its first appearance on Newmarket Park in a match against Metro College.

1971

• The Canterbury and Wellington Women’s Football Associations are established.
• The English FA lifts its ban on women playing football on grounds controlled by member clubs.

1973

• The Northern Women’s Football Association is established and launches a regional league.
• In Wellington, a league competition (for the Royal Oak Cup) and a knockout competition (for the Kelly Cup) are launched.
• The first recorded women’s interprovincial matches since the 1920s are played between Wellington and Auckland.

1974

• The Northern WFA is affiliated to the Auckland (men’s) FA.
• Women’s teams from Sydney clubs play Auckland club teams.
• An Auckland representative team reciprocates by playing in Australia.

1975

Winners of the Asian Cup, 1975

• The Northern and Christchurch WFAs form the New Zealand Women’s Football Association (NZWFA), to which Wellington is temporarily affiliated.
• The formation of the NZWFA enables the acceptance of an invitation to compete in the Asian Cup in Hong Kong. Captained by Barbara Cox and coached by Dave Farrington, the first national women’s football team unexpectedly wins the tournament, drawing the ire of disgruntled local gamblers.
• Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki and Southland WFAs are established. Southland is unique in that all its chairs until 1989 are women.

1976

• The first annual national regional women’s football tournament is held in Christchurch, contested by Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Southland.
• WFAs are established in Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, South Canterbury and Otago.

1977

• The Nelson and Wairarapa WFAs are established.
• The national regional women’s football tournament in Wellington is contested by eight teams, with the addition of Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough and Otago.

1978

• The Northern WFA changes its name to Auckland WFA.

1979

• The NZWFA becomes an incorporated society.
• The Poverty Bay WFA is established.
• The national regional women’s football tournament is held in New Plymouth, with Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay and Nelson competing for the first time.
• The national women’s football team tours Australia.

1980

New Zealand versus Australia, 1980 (Te Ara)

• Auckland’s WFA gains representation and a vote on the board of the Auckland (men’s) FA – the first WFA to do so.
• The Manawatū WFA is established.
• The national women’s football team is defeated 3–2 by Australia in the deciding match of the Trans-Tasman Cup series.

1981

• The national tournament is held in Napier.
• The national women’s football team places second in the second World Women’s Invitational Tournament, held in Taiwan.

1982

• The West Coast WFA is established.
• A steering committee with representatives from the NZWFA, NZFA, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji is set up to form the Oceania Women’s Football Confederation.
• The All Whites (national men’s football team) qualify for the finals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time. They lose all three group matches.
• New Zealand’s national women’s football team hosts Taiwan.

1983

• The first (women’s football) Oceania Cup is held in New Caledonia. New Zealand beats Australia in the final.

1984

• NZWFA members Rona McKenzie and Jenny Parkin are elected to the executive of the Oceania Women’s Football Confederation as secretary and treasurer respectively.
• The New Zealand women’s under-21 team plays in New Caledonia.
• The national women's football team places fourth in the third World Women's Invitational Tournament in Taiwan.

1985

• The NZWFA establishes a World Cup Committee to promote women’s football in New Zealand.

1986

• The second Oceania (women’s football) Cup is contested in Christchurch. New Zealand places third.

1987

Barbara Cox and Michele Cox (Te Ara)

• The national women’s football team places second-equal in the fourth World Women’s Invitational Tournament. Mother and daughter Barbara and Michele Cox combine in defence in New Zealand’s only victory over the United States. Roy Cox coaches the team.
• The Northland WFA is established.
• New Zealander Josephine King is elected secretary-general of the Oceania Football Confederation.

1988

• An invitational tournament is held in China as a test run for the first official FIFA Women’s World Cup. Australia is invited to participate; New Zealand is not.
• Maureen Jacobson becomes the first New Zealand woman footballer to play professionally when she takes up a contract with Millwall Lionesses in England.

1989

• The Wanganui WFA is established, becoming New Zealand’s 18th regional WFA.
• The NZFA appoints Noel Robinson as its first chief executive.
• New Zealand places second at the third Oceania (women’s football) Cup in Brisbane.
• Nora Watkins becomes the first woman to be appointed as an assistant coach of the national women’s team.

1991

Maureen Jacobson, first New Zealand woman to play professional football (Te Ara)

• The first official FIFA Women’s World Cup finals are held in China. New Zealand qualify, but do not make it out of the group stage.
• Maureen Jacobson wins the 1991 (English) Women’s FA Cup with Millwall Lionesses.
• The NZWFA rebrands itself as the New Zealand Women’s Soccer Association. The national team is now known as the SWANZ.

1994

List of Kate Sheppard Cup winners (Te Ara)

• A national women’s club knockout competition (now the Kate Sheppard Cup) is contested for the first time. Christchurch team Nomads United are the inaugural winners.

1995

• Bill MacGowan is appointed as chief executive of New Zealand Soccer.

1996

• Football is introduced as an Olympic sport for women, having been contested by men since 1900.
• Charlie Dempsey becomes the first New Zealander elected to FIFA council.

1997

• New Zealand Soccer asserts its authority over women’s football and forms a ‘Women’s Committee’, a move which in practice only has an impact on international operations.
• Bill MacGowan resigns as chief executive of New Zealand Soccer.

1999

• New Zealand Soccer doubles affiliation fees for all adult players.
• The NZWFA votes at its annual general meeting to merge with New Zealand Soccer, and transfers the administration of women’s football to a dedicated committee.
• New Zealand Soccer’s 22 regional associations are merged into seven federations.
• Bill MacGowan is reappointed as chief executive of New Zealand Soccer.

2000

• Charlie Dempsey's term on the FIFA council ends.

2001

• The national regional women’s tournament is contested for the last time. Between them, Wellington and Auckland have won 23 of the 26 titles.
• New Zealand Soccer dissolves its women’s football committee.

2002

• New Zealand Soccer announces the first national women’s league for federation teams. The competition will be dominated by Auckland.
• The NZWFA holds a special general meeting with the intention of dissolving itself, but a vote is deferred after concerns are raised about New Zealand Soccer’s treatment of women’s football.

2003

• Michelle Anderson is appointed as the first Women’s Development Officer at New Zealand Soccer.

2004

• New Zealand Soccer decides not to enter women’s national teams in either the qualifying tournament for the Olympics or the FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Cup, while supporting the All Whites’ Olympic qualifying campaign. In response, the NZWFA lodges a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. New Zealand Soccer re-establishes its women’s advisory committee.
• Josephine King steps down from her position as secretary-general of the Oceania Football Confederation.

2005

• New Zealand Soccer’s annual report includes, for the first time, a ‘Women's Football Report’, written by the new Women’s Development Officer, Michele Cox.
• Graham Seatter replaces Bill MacGowan as chief executive of New Zealand Soccer.

2006

• New Zealand qualify for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship. Their best result is a scoreless draw with Brazil.

2007

• New Zealand Soccer receives financial support from SPARC and three of its constituent federations, and takes out a bank loan.
• New Zealand Soccer introduces affiliation fees for all junior players.
• The Football Ferns (the national women’s team) qualify for the finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time since 1991, following Australia’s move to the Asian Confederation. They lose all three group matches.
• New Zealand Soccer is renamed New Zealand Football.

2008

New Zealand versus Colombia at under-17 FIFA Women's World Cup (Te Ara)

• The Football Ferns qualify for the Summer Olympics. Their best result is a 2–2 draw with Japan.
• The Football Ferns finish fourth in the Cyprus Women’s Cup.
• FIFA appoint New Zealand to represent the Oceania Confederation in the finals of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Their best result is a 4–3 victory over host nation Chile.
• New Zealand hosts the finals of the first FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. They defeat Colombia 3–1 but lose their two other group matches.
• A leaked report shows that New Zealand Football continues to be in financial difficulty. A number of board and staff members resign, including chief executive Graham Seatter, who is replaced by Michael Glading. An independent commissioner is appointed to the board of New Zealand Football.
• New Zealand Football and the seven federations sign a partnership agreement.

2009

• Auckland club Lynn-Avon United wins the national women’s club knockout competition for the ninth time in 16 years, and the seventh in the last eight.

2010

• The All Whites men’s team qualify for the finals of the FIFA World Cup. They draw all three group matches but do not reach the knockout stage.
• The Football Ferns lose 1–0 to Canada in the final of the Cyprus Women’s Cup.
• The National Women’s Soccer League is replaced by the ASB Women’s Youth League, an under-20 competition with five over-age players per squad.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-20 and Under-17 Women’s World Cups. They lose all three group matches in both tournaments.

2011

• New Zealand Football launches its Whole of Football Plan, envisaged as a comprehensive model for player development incorporating coherent pathways and age-appropriate skills training. Plan lead John Herdman resigns at the end of the year.
• Michael Glading resigns as chief executive of New Zealand Football and is replaced by Grant McKavanagh.
• The Football Ferns qualify for the finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their best result is a 2–2 draw with Mexico.

2012

Football Ferns playing at the 2012 London Olympics

• A focus on women and girls is added to New Zealand Football’s Whole of Football Plan.
• The Football Ferns record their first win at the Olympics (3–1 over Cameroon) and reach the quarter-finals, losing 2–0 to USA.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. They beat Switzerland 2–1 and draw 2–2 with host nation Japan, but do not qualify for the playoffs.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. They lose all three group matches.
• The Football Ferns receive an extra $1.6 million in funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand because they are seen as potential medallists at the 2020 Olympics.

2013

• At the Valais Cup in Switzerland, the Football Ferns defeat Brazil 1–0 (a first for any New Zealand team) before beating China 4–0 in the final.
• The Football Ferns finish third in the Cyprus Women’s Cup.
• Grant McKavanagh resigns as chief executive of New Zealand Football and is replaced by board member Mark Aspden on an acting basis.

2014

• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. They beat Paraguay 2–0 and Costa Rica 3–0 before losing 4–1 to Nigeria in their quarter-final match.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. Their best result is a 1–1 draw with Paraguay.
• Andy Martin is appointed as chief executive of New Zealand Football.
• New Zealand Football undertakes a governance review.

2015

• The Football Ferns qualify for the finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. They draw two group matches but do not reach the playoffs.
• New Zealand referee Anna-Marie Keighley officiates in five matches at the Women’s World Cup, the first person to do so at a FIFA tournament.
• New Zealand hosts the finals of the FIFA Under-20 (men’s) World Cup.
• Age restrictions for players in the ASB Women’s League are abolished.

2016

• New Zealander Sarai Bareman is appointed as FIFA’s first Chief Women’s Football Officer.
• The Football Ferns qualify for the Olympics. They defeat Colombia 1–0, but do not reach the playoffs.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. They defeat Ghana 1–0, but do not reach the playoffs.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. They defeat Jordan 5–0, but do not reach the playoffs.

2017

• For the first time, a Futsal Ferns team is formed to play this indoor, five-a-side version of football at international level.

2018

Football Ferns versus France at the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup (Te Ara)

• Amber Hearn retires from international football after playing 125 times for the Football Ferns. Her 54 international goals are the most scored by any New Zealand footballer – male or female. She has played professionally in England, Canada, Germany and Spain.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Their best result is a scoreless draw with France, the hosts.
• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. They defeat Finland and Uruguay in group play before outlasting Japan in a penalty shootout in their quarter-final. They then lose to eventual champions Mexico in the semi-final, but defeat Canada 2–1 in the playoff for third place. This is the best result ever achieved by a New Zealand national team in a global FIFA or Olympic tournament.
• New Zealand Football announces that the Football Ferns will receive the same pay, travel conditions and commercial benefits as the All Whites when on international duty.
• New Zealand Football’s chief executive Andy Martin and Football Ferns coach Andreas Heraf resign, following complaints about Heraf’s conduct from 12 Football Ferns players. An independent review finds that Heraf breached New Zealand Football's code of conduct and Worksafe New Zealand's bullying guidelines during his time in charge of the team. New Zealand Football apologises to the players.
• The prize money for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup is doubled to $US30 million, with the winning team getting $4 million. The prize money for men will be $400 million, with the winning team getting $38 million.

2019

• The Football Ferns qualify for the finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. They lose all three group matches.
• New Zealand Football appoints Johanna Wood as the first woman to chair its board. She is also elected to the FIFA council for a four-year term. Wood is the first New Zealander to serve on the council since Charlie Dempsey.
• Andrew Pragnell is confirmed as chief executive of New Zealand Football.

2020

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cu posters in Wellington

• New Zealand Football announces a review of delivery and sustainability.
• Australia and New Zealand are announced as co-hosts of the finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupts sport around the world. The FIFA Under-20 and Under-17 Women’s World Cups are first postponed and then cancelled.

2021

Wellington Phoenix enter the A-League Women (Te Ara)

• The Football Ferns lose all three group matches at the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
• Czech-born Jitka Klimková becomes the first female head coach of the Football Ferns.
• Wellington Phoenix become the first New Zealand-based team to compete in the A-League Women, a semi-professional Australian competition.

2022

• New Zealand qualify for the finals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. They draw 1–1 with Mexico and 2–2 with Colombia, but do not make the playoffs.
• FIFA appoint New Zealand to represent Oceania in the finals of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup after the qualifying tournament is cancelled. The team loses all three group matches.

2023

• A 10-team National League Championship is launched, with four Auckland clubs competing alongside federation teams and the Wellington Phoenix reserve team. The long-term goal is an entirely club-based league.
• The Football Ferns win their first match at a Women’s World Cup finals, defeating Norway 1–0 in front of a record crowd in Auckland. After losing to the Philippines and drawing with Switzerland, New Zealand fail to qualify for the round of 16. Spain defeat England 1–0 in the final in Sydney.

Further information

This web feature is based on a timeline by Alida Shanks, which is used with permission. It was produced by the NZHistory team.

Links and sources

• A history of New Zealand women's football – New Zealand Football
• ‘Woman first, athlete second: Barbara Cox and the struggle for female footballers’ – The Spinoff
• Football – Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
• New Zealand Football
• Shanks, Alida. ‘Shifting the focus from gender diversity and inclusion to belonging and gender equity in Aotearoa New Zealand community football organisations: how did we get here and where are we going?’ PhD thesis, Massey University, 2023
• Macdonald, Charlotte. ‘Organisations in sport, recreation and leisure’. In Women together: a history of women’s organisations in New Zealand / Ngā rōpū wāhine o te motu, edited by Anne Else. Wellington: Historical Branch of Internal Affairs/Daphne Brasell, 1993, updated 2018.