Women's national association football team representing New Zealand
New Zealand Nickname Football Ferns[ 1] Association New Zealand Football Confederation OFC (Oceania)Head coach Michael Mayne Captain Ali Riley Mostcaps Ria Percival (166)Top scorer Amber Hearn (54 )FIFA code NZL FIFA ranking Current 33[ 2] Highest 16 (December 2013, July 2015 – March 2016) Lowest 33 (June 2025) First international New Zealand 2–0Hong Kong Hong Kong ; 25 August 1975)Biggest win New Zealand 21–0Samoa Auckland , New Zealand; 9 October 1998)Biggest defeat North Korea 11–0New Zealand Brisbane , Australia; 24 February 2004)World Cup Appearances 6 (first in1991 ) Best result Group stage (1991 ,2007 ,2011 ,2015 ,2019 ,2023 ) Olympic Games Appearances 5 (first in2008 ) Best result Quarter-finals (2012 ) OFC Nations Cup Appearances 11 (first in1983 ) Best result Champions (1983 ,1991 ,2007 ,2010 ,2014 ,2018 )
TheNew Zealand women's national football team representsNew Zealand in internationalfootball competitions, and is governed byNew Zealand Football (NZF). They are nicknamed theFootball Ferns .
The New Zealand national team has taken part in theFIFA Women's World Cup six times, making their debut in1991 .[ 3] 2023 World Cup alongsideAustralia .[ 4]
The New Zealand Women's Soccer Association was founded in 1975. By invitation, the team took part in theAsian Women's Championship in 1975 and won the championship.[ 5]
As Australia left the OFC, New Zealand had no serious and competitive rivals in Oceania. This made New Zealand's qualification to the World Cup and Olympics easier having contested every edition of both tournaments since 2007.
[ edit ] New Zealand co-hosted the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup along with Australia after being awarded it on 25 June 2020 as the favourites over other bidder Colombia. The Football Ferns automatically qualified as co-host. Despite winning their opening match againstNorway , their first World Cup win for either a women's or men's World Cup,[ 6] Philippines and later drew toSwitzerland in their final match, and were eliminated after Norway defeated Philippines and finished above New Zealand on goal difference. This was the first time the hosts were eliminated from the group stage. They only managed to score one goal during the tournament.[ 7]
The New Zealand women's national football team are also known by their nickname the "Football Ferns".[ 1] male counterparts , the team has traditionally worn all whitekits . For the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup , the Football Ferns switched to an all black first choice kit reminiscent of theNew Zealand national rugby union team , as well as the country's national teams in other sports, includingrugby league ,field hockey ,netball ,basketball ,volleyball , andlimited overs cricket . The away kit pairs the traditional white shirts and socks with turquoise shorts.[ 8]
FIFA world rankings [ edit ] As of 14 July 2021 [ 9] Worst Ranking Best Ranking Worst Mover Best Mover
Results and fixtures [ edit ] The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[ 10] [ 11]
Legend Win Draw Loss Fixture
Current coaching staff [ edit ] Position Name[ 14] Head coach Assistant coach Assistant coach Assistant coach Goalkeeping coach Performance Analyst Sports Scientist
[ 15]
The following players were called up for thefriendly matches againstAustralia on 28 November and 2 December 2025. [ 39]
Caps and goals correct as of 29 October 2025, after the match againstUnited States . [ 40] The following players have also been called up to the squad within the past 12 months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Maddie Iro (2005-10-24 ) 24 October 2005 (age 20) 0 0 DePaul Blue Demons v.United States , 29 October 2025 GK Brianna Edwards (2003-01-27 ) 27 January 2003 (age 22) 1 0 Western Sydney Wanderers v.Venezuela , 3 June 2025 GK Claudia Jenkins (1998-06-20 ) 20 June 1998 (age 27) 0 0 Adelaide United v.Venezuela , 31 May 2025 GK Geo Candy (2001-04-29 ) 29 April 2001 (age 24) 0 0 Unattached v.Costa Rica , 25 February 2025 DF Katie Bowen (1994-04-15 ) 15 April 1994 (age 31) 116 4 Inter Milan v.United States , 29 October 2025 DF Mackenzie Barry (2001-04-11 ) 11 April 2001 (age 24) 22 1 Wellington Phoenix v.United States , 29 October 2025 DF Grace Neville (2000-04-09 ) 9 April 2000 (age 25) 14 0 Ipswich Town v.United States , 29 October 2025 DF Manaia Elliott (2005-04-21 ) 21 April 2005 (age 20) 5 0 Wellington Phoenix v.United States , 29 October 2025 DF Rebecca Lake (1999-05-13 ) 13 May 1999 (age 26) 0 0 Vancouver Rise v.United States , 29 October 2025 DF Rebekah Stott (1993-06-17 ) 17 June 1993 (age 32) 108 4 Melbourne City v.Venezuela , 3 June 2025 MF Jana Radosavljević (1996-11-04 ) 4 November 1996 (age 29) 3 0 C.S. Marítimo v.Taiwan , 8 April 2025 MF Macey Fraser (2002-07-11 ) 11 July 2002 (age 23) 8 2 Wellington Phoenix v.Costa Rica , 25 February 2025 FW Hannah Blake (2000-05-05 ) 5 May 2000 (age 25) 8 0 Durham v.United States , 29 October 2025 FW Grace Jale (1999-04-10 ) 10 April 1999 (age 26) 35 9 Wellington Phoenix v.Venezuela , 3 June 2025 FW Ruby Nathan (2005-10-11 ) 11 October 2005 (age 20) 5 1 Canberra United v.Venezuela , 3 June 2025 Notes ALT INJ PRE RET
[ 41]
Bold players are still active.
Statistics as of 29 October 2025 .[ 41] Ria Percival is the most capped playerAmber Hearn is the all-time top scorerMost capped players [ edit ] Champions (6): 1983 ,1991 ,2007 ,2010 ,2014 ,2018 Runners-up (4): 1989 ,1994 ,1998 ,2003 Champions: 1975 Runners-up (1): 1993 [ edit ] FIFA Women's World Cup history Year Host Round Date Opponent Result Stadium 1991 China Group stage 17 November Denmark L 0–3Tianhe Stadium ,Guangzhou 19 November Norway L 0–4Guangdong Provincial Stadium ,Guangzhou 21 November China L 1–4New Plaza Stadium ,Foshan 2007 China Group stage 12 September Brazil L 0–5Wuhan Stadium ,Wuhan 15 September Denmark L 0–220 September China L 0–2Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium ,Tianjin 2011 Germany Group stage 27 June Japan L 1–2Ruhrstadion ,Bochum 1 July England L 1–2Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion ,Dresden 5 July Mexico D 2–2Rhein-Neckar-Arena ,Sinsheim 2015 Canada Group stage 6 June Netherlands L 0–1Commonwealth Stadium ,Edmonton 11 June Canada D 0–015 June China D 2–2Winnipeg Stadium ,Winnipeg 2019 France Group stage 11 June Netherlands L 0–1Stade Océane ,Le Havre 15 June Canada L 0–2Stade des Alpes ,Grenoble 20 June Cameroon L 1–2Stade de la Mosson ,Montpellier 2023 Australia New Zealand Group stage 20 July Norway W 1–0Eden Park ,Auckland 25 July Philippines L 0–1Wellington Regional Stadium ,Wellington 30 July Switzerland D 0–0Forsyth Barr Stadium ,Dunedin
[ edit ] [ edit ] TheAlgarve Cup is an invitationaltournament for national teams inwomen's association football hosted by thePortuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in theAlgarve region ofPortugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women's international football events and has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup".[ 42]
Algarve Cup recordYear Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA GD 2016 4th place 4 1 2 1 2 2 0 2020 4th place 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 Total 2/28 7 1 3 3 4 8 −4
TheSheBelieves Cup is a global invitationaltournament for national teams inwomen's soccer hosted in theUnited States .
^a b "Soccer women step out with new name – Football Ferns" .Stuff . Retrieved29 July 2023 .^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking" .FIFA . 7 August 2025. Retrieved7 August 2025 .^ "1975 ASIAN CUP" .New Zealand Football on NZfootball.co.nz . Archived fromthe original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved5 December 2008 .^ Diamond, Drew (12 November 2023)."World Cup legacy continues to take effect in Aotearoa-New Zealand" .Her Football Hub . Retrieved12 November 2023 . ^ "1975" .RSSSF . Retrieved11 April 2019 .^ Gastelum, Andrew (20 July 2023)."New Zealand Records First World Cup Win With Upset Over Norway" .Sports Illustrated . ^ "New Zealand makes history by being ousted in group stage, as Group A is settled" .Fox Sports . 31 July 2023.^ "Nike unveils Football Ferns FIFA World Cup team kits and innovative period wear" .New Zealand Herald . Retrieved20 July 2023 .^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – Associations – New Zealand – Women's" .FIFA . 25 June 2021. Retrieved14 July 2021 .^ "New Zealand - New Zealand - Results and fixtures - Soccerway" .int.soccerway.com .^ "New Zealand [Women] - Historical results" .worldfootball.net . 1 September 2023.^ "Behind-closed-doors match called off between Ferns and Chinese Taipei" .friendsoffootballnz.com . 5 April 2025. Retrieved6 April 2025 .^ " .friendsoffootballnz.com . 6 April 2025. Retrieved6 April 2025 .^ "Ferns Legend and English WSL Coach Join Ford Football Ferns Coaching Staff for FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 Cycle" .New Zealand Football . 17 October 2025. Retrieved2 November 2025 .^ "Coaching Records" .The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website . Retrieved3 January 2024 .^ "Page 6. Women's international football" .Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage . 5 September 2013. Retrieved3 January 2024 .The first head coach of the national women's team was Wellington-based Dave Farrington, who held the role from 1975 to 1979. ^ "Fan discovers grandad among locker room legends" .FIFA Museum FIFA . 9 September 2016.Armstrong would also later take the coaching reins of the New Zealand women' side in 1980. ^a b Smith, Tony (25 May 2023)."From 70s restart to Fifa Women's World Cup hosting - NZ football's remarkable revival" .Stuff Roy Cox - rated by women's football historian Jeremy Ruane as "the godfather" of the women's game - had a coaching wins ratio of 56% from 1983 to 1987 - and Dave Boardman (1988-94) 55 %. ^ Riddle, Charles (18 August 2017)."Obituary: Waikato women's football pioneer ahead of his time" .Stuff ^ Wilson, Sam (23 June 2023)."Football Ferns mourn former player and coach Nora Watkins" .Stuff She later went on to have a hugely successful coaching career at domestic level before taking charge of the national side for a two-match series against Australia in March 1995 – the first woman to hold that position. ^ Ruane, Jeremy."Michele Cox – Quite Simply, The Best" .The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website . Retrieved3 January 2024 .Thus four years of frustration ensued, until the appointment in 1995 of a new national coach, Maurice Tillotson. ^ Maddaford, Terry."Soccer: Fallon and the Rufers tipped as coaches for Kings" .The New Zealand Herald ^ Eriksen, Alanah (6 May 2009)."Ex-All White upset by murder story" .The New Zealand Herald ^ "Ferns coach to take side through to 2023 Women's World Cup revealed" .New Zealand Football . 1 September 2021.former captain Wendi Henderson jointly held the role of coach with fellow former international Ali Grant in October 2004 ^ Maddaford, Terry (26 April 2005)."Soccer: New coach draws side from far and wide" .The New Zealand Herald ^ Smith, Tony (2 April 2022)."How Māori wisdom helped football coach John Herdman on the road to World Cup glory" .Stuff Aged 31, he took over the Football Ferns coaching for two matches against China in 2006. ^ Brown, Michael (9 December 2006)."Soccer: Allan Jones' last crusade" .The New Zealand Herald ^ Maddaford, Terry (1 March 2007)."Soccer: Women's coach quits" .The New Zealand Herald ^ Runae\f's, Jeremy."Herdman Embraces "A Massive Responsibility" . ^ "Herdman finishing as Football Ferns coach" .Stuff ^ "New Football Ferns coach appointed" .Radio New Zealand . 14 September 2011.^ Voerman, Andrew (2 November 2017)."Departing Football Ferns coach Tony Readings says time right for him to go" .Stuff ^ "Heraf named as new Ferns Coach" .New Zealand Football . 20 December 2017.^ "New Zealand women's football coach resigns amid alleged 'toxic culture' .The Guardian ^ "Sermanni named as Ferns Head Coach" .New Zealand Football . 26 October 2018.^ "Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni steps down" .1116 SEN . 10 June 2021.^ " .1News . Retrieved16 September 2024 .^ "Michael Mayne Named Football Ferns Head Coach" .New Zealand Football . Retrieved23 May 2025 .^ "Ford Football Ferns Squad Named For Games Against Australia" . New Zealand Football. 13 November 2025.^ New Zealand Squad ^a b "Roll of Honour" .The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website . Archived fromthe original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved22 July 2021 .^ "Women's game thriving in the Algarve" .FIFA the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved13 March 2014 .
General Statistics Players Goals World Cups OFC Nations Cup Olympic Games Rivalries Other NZF teams † By invitation, the New Zealand team took part in the 1975 AFC Women's Championship. They have since then played in the Oceanic Championship.
National teams
League system
Men (level 1) Men (level 2) Men (level 3) Men (level 4) Men (level 5) Men (level 6) Northland Division 1 NRF Championship Division 1 WaiBop Championship Capital Division 2 Taranaki Championship Manawatu Championship Whanganui Roly Taylor Championship Hawkes Bay Division 2 Mainland Division 2 Otago Division 3 Southland Division 2 Unaffiliated West Coast Senior FootballWomen Youth
Domestic cups
Awards Lists
New Zealand squads – FIFA Women's World Cup
New Zealand women's football squads – Summer Olympics
New Zealand at the FIFA Women's World Cup
Champions Runner-up Third place Fourth place Quarter-finals Group stage
Champions Runner-up Third place Fourth place Quarter-finals Group stage
Champions Runner-up Third place Fourth place Quarter-finals Group stage
Champions Runner-up Third place Fourth place Quarter-finals Round of 16 Group stage
Champions Runner-up Third place Fourth place Quarter-finals Round of 16 Group stage
Champions Runner-up Third place Fourth place Quarter-finals Round of 16 Group stage
† Associate member – Not a member of FIFA
(7 August 2025)[2]
New Zealand 2–0Hong Kong 
North Korea 11–0New Zealand 
0
0
v
v
Venezuela
v
v
v
Solomon Islands
Jenni Foster
Will Britt
Andreas Heraf (2017–2018)[33][34]
Tom Sermanni (2018–2021)[35][36]
Jitka Klimková (2021–2024)[37]
Dijon
Calgary Wild
Kolbotn
Viktoria Berlin
Feyenoord
Stjarnan
FC Nordsjælland
Eskilstuna United
Inter Milan
C.S. Marítimo
Taiwan, 8 April 2025
Champions:1975
Runners-up (1):1993
1991
2019
2027
2035
Greece
Japan
1994
2018
2022
Oceania portal
Sports portal
Association football portal
Women's association football portal
