Wellington Phoenix FC (women)
Association football club based in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wellington Phoenix Women's Football Club is a 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.
| |
| Full name | Wellington Phoenix Women's Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Phoenix, Wahinix, Nix |
| Short name | Wellington |
| Founded | 10 September 2021 |
| Ground | Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua[1] |
| Capacity | 1,900 |
| Owner | Welnix |
| Chairman | Robert Morrison |
| Coach | Bev Priestman |
| League | A-League Women |
| 2025–26 | 2nd of 11 |
| Website | https://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/ |
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.[2][3] 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.[4][5]
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.[6][7]
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.[8] 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.[9] Alfeld was later announced as the club's inaugural captain.[10]
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.[11]
Ava Pritchard scored the club's first goal in their second game of the season, in a 1–5 loss to Newcastle Jets.[12]
On 11 February 2022, the Phoenix achieved their first win in A-League Women history in a 3–0 away win against Canberra United.[13]
Players
First-team squad
- As of 18 March 2026[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Management team
Technical staff
- As of 2 January 2026[15]
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Bev Priestman |
| Assistant manager | Amy Shepherd |
| 2nd Assistant/Team analyst | Tory Schiltgen |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Nick Stanton |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Kieran McMinn |
| Head physiotherapist | Beanie Joyes |
| Team operations & equipment manager | Toni West-Luamanu |
| Rehab Physiotherapist | Jamie Hassett |
| Assistant Analyst | Tyron Curtis |
Captaincy history
Records and statistics
- Record Win: 7–0 vs Sydney FC, A-League Women, 20 December 2025[19]
- Record Defeat: 0–5 vs Sydney FC, A-League Women, 30 December 2021
- Record High Attendance: 5,532 vs Perth Glory, Mount Smart Stadium, 25 November 2023[20]
- Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 3
- Pia Vlok vs Newcastle Jets, A-League Women, 1 February 2026[21][22]
- Most Wins in a Row: 4 matches, from 17 January 2026 to 6 February 2026[23]
- Most Losses in a Row: 9 matches, from 10 December 2021 to 4 February 2022
- Longest Undefeated Streak: 4 matches, from 22 November 2024 to 21 December 2024; from 17 January 2026 to 6 February 2026[23]
- Most Goals In a Regular season: Mariana Speckmaier – 10 goals, 2023–24 A-League Women
Most appearances
As of 6 April 2026[update].
Competitive, professional matches only. All current players are in bold.
| Name | Years | A-League Women | Finals | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mackenzie Barry | 2021– | 91 | 0 | 91 |
| 2 | Alyssa Whinham | 2021– | 62 | 0 | 62 |
| 3 | Manaia Elliott | 2023– | 59 | 0 | 59 |
| 4 | Zoe McMeeken | 2021–2025 | 55 | 0 | 55 |
| 5 | Emma Main | 2023– | 54 | 0 | 54 |
Top goalscorers
As of 6 April 2026[update].
Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.
| Name | Years | A-League Women | Finals | Total | Goals per game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mariana Speckmaier | 2023–2024 | 10 (21) | 0 (0) | 10 (21) | 0.48 |
| Grace Jale | 2021–2022, 2024– | 10 (52) | 0 (0) | 10 (52) | 0.19 | |
| Emma Main | 2023– | 10 (54) | 0 (0) | 10 (54) | 0.19 | |
| 4 | Manaia Elliott | 2023– | 8 (59) | 0 (0) | 8 (59) | 0.14 |
| 5 |  Brooke Nunn | 2025– | 6 (20) | 0 (0) | 6 (20) | 0.3 |
| Pia Vlok | 2025– | 6 (19) | 0 (0) | 6 (19) | 0.32 | |
Season-by-season record
| Season | Division | League | Top scorer | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Pos | Finals | Name | Goals | ||
| 2021–22 | A-League Women | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 36 | –23 | 7 | 10th | — | Grace Jale |
6 |
| 2022–23 | A-League Women | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 30 | –10 | 13 | 11th | — | Milly Clegg |
4 |
| 2023–24 | A-League Women | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 28 | 8th | — | Mariana Speckmaier |
10 |
| 2024–25 | A-League Women | 23 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 25 | 30 | −5 | 24 | 9th | — | Olivia Fergusson |
5 |
| 2025–26 | A-League Women | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 34 | 2nd | SF | Brooke Nunn Pia Vlok |
6 |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Last place | |
| Did not make the playoff | |
| ♦ | Top scorer in competition |
| EF | Elimination finals |
| SF | Semi-finals |
