Nix to play 10 games in Wellington

The Wellington Phoenix will have 10 home matches at Sky Stadium in Wellington during the coming A-League Men season, after playing there just twice since March 2020.

But they will take one to Wollongong, their temporary home during the 2020-21 season, and two elsewhere in New Zealand, most likely Auckland.

The draw for the 2022-23 A-League Men season was revealed yesterday, with the first of 26 regular season rounds taking place from October 7 and the grand final scheduled for May 27.

The Phoenix’s first home match will be on Sunday, October 9, against Adelaide United at Sky Stadium, 3pm. The family-friendly kickoff time is for all 12 of the team’s matches in New Zealand.

There is a second home match the following Sunday, against the Central Coast Mariners, while two more on Sundays, against Macarthur FC and defending champions Western United, are on the cards before the league takes three weekends off while the World Cup is played in Qatar.

The Phoenix’s first home match after action resumes on December 9 will be at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on December 10, against Western Sydney Wanderers – honouring a commitment made when the city south of Sydney hosted Phoenix teams while Covid-19 border restrictions were in place.

Matches against the Mariners on January 22, Perth Glory on January 28, and the Newcastle Jets on March 4 have been listed without venues at this stage, though it is hoped one of them will be played in Wellington. Auckland is the most likely location for the other two.