The Futsal Ferns squad has been announced for this month’s OFC Futsal Women's Nations Cup, the qualifying tournament for the first-ever FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup, set to be held in the Philippines in 2025.

Head coach Nic Downes’ 14-person squad features nine players based in Aotearoa New Zealand and five playing around the world in Australia, England, and Japan.

The squad also features three players set to make their Futsal Ferns debuts at the tournament: Papakura City’s Alosi Bloomfield, Capital Futsal’s Jemma Catherwood, and WaiBOP Power’s Jamie Evans.

The full squad is:

Sarah Alder (6 caps/1 goal) Capital Futsal, Aotearoa New Zealand
Shivanthi Anthony (9/2) VEEX Tokyo, Japan
Alosi Bloomfield* (0/0) Papakura City FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Libby Boobyer (3/0) Capital Futsal, Aotearoa New Zealand
Danielle Bradley (6/0) Melbourne Evolution FC, Australia
Jordana Bremner (3/0) Papakura City FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Jemma Catherwood* (0/0) Capital Futsal, Aotearoa New Zealand
Maxine Cooper (9/6) Capital Futsal, Aotearoa New Zealand
Jamie Evans* (0/0) WaiBOP Power, Aotearoa New Zealand
Hannah Hegarty (3/0) Canterbury United Futsal Pride, Aotearoa New Zealand
Ella James (6/2) Papakura City FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Hannah Kraakman (6/6) Bloomsbury Futsal, England
Tessa Leong (6/0) Bloomsbury Futsal, England
Dayna Manak (9/5) Bloomsbury Futsal, England

*Debut call-up

Head coach Nic Downes is looking forward to seeing Aotearoa New Zealand’s top players given the opportunity to test themselves internationally at a major tournament:

“The establishment of the FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup in 2025 is a huge and exciting moment for the game. It has always been that missing piece of the puzzle, having that pinnacle event for players to ultimately strive for.

“For us now though, the focus is firmly on the first edition of the OFC Futsal Women's Nations Cup. It's been a long time waiting for the opportunity to compete in an event of this kind and test ourselves against the other nations within the region. 

“We gained valuable court time and experience in the Philippines last year. That tour gave us a good indication of what we needed to improve and we're all really looking forward to getting back on court together again soon.”

The OFC Futsal Women's Nations Cup is set to be held in Honiara, Solomon Islands from 17 – 25 August, and broadcast live and free on FIFA+.

Article added: Wednesday 07 August 2024