The next generation of Football Ferns are ideally placed to further their development with a batch of the country’s most promising players being welcomed into the latest Future Ferns Domestic Programme (FFDP) intake.

A total of 25 players have been accepted into the programme for 2020 and will take the next steps in their career under an all-female coaching staff of head coach Gemma Lewis and recently-appointed assistant Natalie Lawrence.

There are some familiar names among the group with Lily Alfeld, Elizabeth Anton, Claudia Bunge, Maggie Jenkins, Sarah Morton, Nadia Olla and Stephanie Skilton all having already either been capped at senior international level or featured in Football Ferns squads.

But there is plenty of fresh talent joining them with Ava Collins, Arabella Maynard, Alisha Perry and Ava Pritchard stepping up after serving as apprentices last year while Blair Currie, Maisy Dewell, Macey Fraser, Marisa van der Meer and Rene Wasi are coming into the programme for the first time.

“We’re excited about the group of players we have to work with,” Lewis says.

“It will be really good to see how the players develop over time and hopefully progress to the next step of international representation or professional contracts.”

Since its establishment in 2017, the Auckland-based FFDP has proved successful in producing players capable of performing at international level with nine graduates going on to earn professional contracts, among them the likes of established Football Ferns Meikayla Moore, CJ Bott, Katie Rood and Paige Satchell.

And it’s an exciting time to be part of the programme with New Zealand Football currently bidding to jointly host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup while the Ferns are set to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in July. The FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cups are also scheduled to take place later this year.

“The Olympics is fast approaching and, for some players, this may be a goal they are pushing for this year. But the programme is individualised to help each player with their footballing goals and their next step,” Lewis says.

“This may be to play overseas, in the 2023 World Cup, at the U-17 or U-20 World Cups, or to secure a scholarship with a good college in the US. Everyone’s goals are different but the programme works to support the players and equip them with the tools to succeed.”

The FFDP provides a wide range of support in that quest with high-quality coaching being supplemented by access to sports science and nutrition information, physio, sports psychologist services, athlete life advice and gym memberships.

Some key amendments have been made to the programme, most notably the squad no longer competing in a boys competition and FFDP players not taking part in club football, instead focusing solely on their personal development within the programme.

In another notable change, the apprentice programme will continue throughout 2020 but apprentices will no longer miss any games for their Northern Regional Football League (NRFL) clubs and will instead be integrated into FFDP in a way that has minimal impact on their club commitments.

“We review the programme annually and there was a trend of player feedback that strongly showed changes needed to be made in these areas,” Lewis explains.

“With the 2020 calendar year being very full with the Olympics, U-17 World Cup and U-20 World Cup, we could not commit to a league without feeling like we were going to disrupt other teams in the competition by not being able to play games during certain periods when the players are away.

"We’re confident these changes will also cause less disruption for clubs competing in the NRFL and will provide more consistency and continuity for the development of players who choose to be within the FFDP environment, as well as providing an improved life balance for them.”

Weekly games will still be organised for the FFDP squad for most of the winter season with these fixtures taking place mainly on Thursday evenings.

“We will look to vary the level and age of the teams we play against to present different challenges for the players,” Lewis says.

“This will create an opportunity for club teams to play mid-week games and use them for training purposes. We will always provide three-point referee control and access to game footage for teams to use for training.”

2020 Future Ferns Domestic Programme (FFDP) squad

Amelia Abbott (Nelson Suburbs)
Lily Alfeld (East Coast Bays)
Elizabeth Anton (Western Springs)
Mackenzie Barry (Forrest Hill Milford United)
Kelli Brown (Forrest Hill Milford United)
Claudia Bunge (Glenfield Rovers)
Ava Collins (Eastern Suburbs)
Blair Currie (Cashmere Technical)
Maisy Dewell (Three Kings United)
Macey Fraser (Cashmere Technical)
Maggie Jenkins (Glenfield Rovers)
Arabella Maynard (Forrest Hill Milford United)
Aneka Mittendorff (Unattached)
Sarah Morton (Western Springs)
Nadia Olla (Western Springs)
Alisha Perry (Three Kings United)
Ava Pritchard (Forrest Hill Milford United)
Gabi Rennie (Waimakariri United)
Michaela Robertson (Wellington United)
Stephanie Skilton (Papakura City)
Nicole Stratford (Unattached)
Marisa van der Meer (Cashmere Technical)
Saskia Vosper (Forrest Hill Milford United)
Rene Wasi (Forrest Hill Milford United)
Grace Wisnewski (Hamilton Wanderers)

Support staff

Head coach: Gemma Lewis
Assistant coach: Natalie Lawrence
Sports scientist: Reilly O’Meagher
Goalkeeping coach: Isaac Tettah
Performance analyst: Alice Noyer
Performance nutritionist: Alice Sharples
Sports psychologist: Dom Vettise
Strength and conditioning coach: Tom Sharp

Article added: Wednesday 19 February 2020