US legend has ‘mad respect’ for Erceg’s stance
One of women’s football’s most famous players has backed the decision of Football Ferns captain Abby Erceg to quit the international game because of a lack of financial support.
Erceg, who with 130 appearances is the Football Ferns most-capped player, confirmed her international retirement with ‘‘regret and great sadness’’ in a social media post on Tuesday.
While she would continue to play professionally overseas, the 27-year-old defender said she could no longer justify her involvement with the national team and was moving on ‘‘to places where female footballers are appreciated, respected and endorsed’’.
On Wednesday, United States goalkeeper Hope Solo, a World Cup and Olympics winner, came out in support of the Kiwi.
‘‘Mad respect for @aerceg5. I wish more footballers had the courage to speak out and take a stand. Sacrifice is never easy,’’ Solo, who has 202 appearances for the US team, tweeted.
Solo, who has never shied away from controversies during her 14-year professional career, currently plays for the Seattle Reign side.
Erceg said her international retirement would kick in after the Cyprus Cup, which the team departed New Zealand for on Wednesday.
In making her unexpected decision, Erceg urged New Zealand Football to give a better deal to Kiwi women players.
She estimated around half of the Ferns squad were based in New Zealand and said support for those players would remove unnecessary stress and help mend a divide in quality between the professional and non-professional players.
She added that the lack of support was harder to swallow given NZF had achieved a surplus in each of the last eight years.
New Zealand Football boss Andy Martin defended his outfit’s policy, saying his organisation was not in a position to fund what he called a domestic programme in place to help players reach ‘‘elite status’’ as quickly as possible.