Wellington Phoenix FC (A-League Women)
| Full name | Wellington Phoenix Women's Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Phoenix, Wahinix, Nix | |
| Short name | Wellington | |
| Founded | 10 September 2021 | |
| Ground | Sky Stadium, Wellington Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua | |
| Capacity | 34,500 | |
| Owner | WelNix Group | |
| Chairman | Robert Morrison | |
| Coach | Paul Temple | |
| League | A-League Women | |
| 2022–23 | 11th of 11 | |
| Website | Club website | |
| ||
Wellington Phoenix Women's Football Club is a New Zealand professional women's football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The Phoenix competes in the Australian premier women's soccer competition A-League Women, under licence from Football Federation Australia and New Zealand Football.
History
Establishment
For several years, there have been talks concerning the creation of a professional women's football team in New Zealand so as to boost the level of women's football in New Zealand and Oceania with the cost of travelling to away games a major barrier. There were no professional clubs in New Zealand and the National League only featured amateur teams. The talks intensified after New Zealand won the rights to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the W-League plans to add three more expansion teams by that time.
In September 2021, Phoenix announced they were one of the clubs in consideration under the W-League expansion and later confirmed creating a women's team.
Inaugural season
On 11 October 2021, Wellington Phoenix announced Gemma Lewis would be the inaugural head coach of the side. They also announced that Natalie Lawrence would be her assistant for the 2021–22 season, making them one of two all-female coaching staffs in the A-League Women. A few days later, they announced former Perth Glory keeper and 2020–21 players’ player of the year, Lily Alfeld as the clubs inaugural signing. Alfeld was later announced as the club's inaugural captain.
Phoenix played their home games at Wollongong with the hope of returning to their home stadium in Wellington later in the season. Wellington Phoenix started their debut season in the A-League in the 2021–22 season with a 0–0 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers at the Wollongong Showgrounds.
Ava Pritchard scored the club's first goal in their second game of the season, in a 1–5 loss to Newcastle Jets.
On 11 February 2022, the Phoenix achieved their first win in A-League Women history in a 3–0 away win against Canberra United.
Players
First-team squad
- As of 27 December 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Management team
Technical staff
- As of 31 August 2023
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Paul Temple |
| Assistant manager | Callum Holmes |
| Team analyst | Tyron Curtis |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Nick Stanton |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Kieran McMinn |
| Head physiotherapist | Mei Morton |
| Team operations & equipment manager | Wendy Turton |
Captaincy history
| Dates | Name | Honours (as captain) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–2023 | Lily Alfeld | Inaugural club captain |
| 2023– | Annalie Longo |
Records and statistics
- Record Win: 5–0 vs Canberra United, A-League Women, 22 January 2023
- Record Defeat: 0–5 vs Sydney FC, A-League Women, 30 December 2021
- Record High Attendance: 5,213 vs Melbourne City, Sky Stadium, 20 November 2022
- Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 2
- Betsy Hassett vs Canberra United, A-League Women, 22 January 2023
- Milly Clegg vs Adelaide United, A-League Women, 28 March 2023
- Most Wins in a Row: 1 – Multiple occasions
- Longest Undefeated Streak: 2 matches – Multiple occasions
- Most Goals In a Regular season: Grace Jale – 6 goals, 2021–22 A-League Women
Most appearances
Last updated 4 February 2024 Competitive, professional matches only. All current players are in bold
| Name | Years | A-League Women | Finals | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mackenzie Barry | 2021– | 44 | 0 | 44 |
| 2 | Kate Taylor | 2021– | 39 | 0 | 39 |
| 3 | Chloe Knott | 2021–2023 | 38 | 0 | 38 |
| 4 | Michaela Foster | 2021– | 32 | 0 | 32 |
| Ava Prtichard | 2021–2023 | 32 | 0 | 32 |
Top goalscorers
Last updated 4 February 2024 Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.
| Name | Years | A-League Women | Finals | Total | Games per goal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariana Speckmaier | 2023– | 7 (15) | 0 (0) | 7 (15) | 0.47 |
| 2 | Grace Jale | 2021–2022 | 6 (12) | 0 (0) | 6 (12) | 0.5 |
| 3 | Chloe Knott | 2021–2023 | 5 (38) | 0 (0) | 5 (38) | 0.13 |
| 4 | Milly Clegg | 2022–2023 | 4 (16) | 0 (0) | 4 (16) | 0.25 |
| Ava Pritchard | 2021–2023 | 4 (32) | 0 (0) | 4 (32) | 0.13 |