The Australian Professional Leagues (APL), the governing body for the A-Leagues, has today (August 21st) confirmed the decision to delay Auckland FC’s entry into the Ninja A-League Women’s competition until the 2027/28 season.
The decision does not impact Auckland FC’s commitment to working with the best young female footballers from across the region, as well as the club’s dedication to help grow women’s football in New Zealand.
Back in April, Auckland FC launched the first of its women’s talent ID camps and in September will launch its Women’s Talent Development Centre. These programmes will identify and train NZ’s best young talent and create clear pathways into our senior Women’s team when it launches in early 2027.
More on our Women’s Talent Development Centre can be found here.
Statement from Anna Mowbray, Auckland FC co-owner:
“A delay is unfortunate and goes against what we initially intended when we set up Auckland FC. But it doesn’t mean we just sit on our hands and wait.
We will roll out a series of women’s football initiatives, including a new women’s football festival and an ambassador programme to celebrate and promote the women’s game in the community.
As a club, we remain committed to a women’s team and determined to make it happen.”
Statement from Nick Becker, Auckland FC CEO:
“We understand the reason behind the decision and naturally we want to launch our women’s team into the strongest possible Ninja A-League.
Since day one we have worked hard to embed ourselves into Auckland’s wider community. Forming a women’s team is a big part of that and this hasn’t changed.
Our Women’s Talent Development Centre is launching this September, and we will run regular talent ID camps across Auckland, Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Our team will start to train early 2027 and we will be ready to go for the 2027/28 season.”
