Young footballers off on international tour
Two Manawatū students are off on an overseas tour with a New Zealand football team.
Palmerston North Girls’ High School students Ella Johns-Stewart, 16, and Alice Kang, 14, have been selected in the New Zealand under-16 secondary schools team touring Melbourne this month.
They were selected after their performance at the national secondary schools tournament at Taupō last year and both were excited to represent their country.
Kang is a goalkeeper and Johns-Stewart is a central defender.
They leave later this week and will play four games in eight days.
Johns-Stewart expected the youth teams they were going to play to be strong.
“I think it will definitely be a good challenge. We haven't actually trained together or met much of the squad yet. We’ll be trying to link up with them and have a good time.”
Kang said it would be cool to play for New Zealand.
“[I’m looking forward to] getting to know how the other girls play as well and play at a higher level than our schools competition.”
Johns-Stewart plays for the Palmerston North Marist first team, who play in the Central League for the top club sides in the lower North Island, and last year was in the Central team in the national youth league. Kang is in the Marist development team. Both had ambitions of playing at a high level.
This week the pair were presented with a $500 voucher from former New Zealand player Marianne Poole of Palmerston North.
Poole was in the original New Zealand women’s football team in 1975 and those players were recently given vouchers from Puma to give to promising young female footballers.