Phoenix women target record crowd

Wanting to ride the wave of momentum behind women’s sport, Wellington Phoenix have set an ambitious target for their first A-league Women home game.

When the Phoenix meet Melbourne City in their season opener at Sky Stadium on Sunday it will be the first professional women’s football game to be played in

New Zealand, 12 months after their debut.

The Phoenix aim to mark the historic occasion by setting a new attendance record for the A-league Women, hoping to attract a crowd of 10,000.

The current record is 8599, set by Melbourne Victory at a semifinal played before an A-league Men game in 2019.

The biggest crowd for a standalone regular season fixture was 5159, set by Adelaide United last year.

The Phoenix would almost double that if they achieve their lofty five-figure target for the round one clash.

‘‘It’s going to be a whole new experience,’’ said captain Lily Alfeld, who will miss the match through injury.

‘‘Last year we didn’t have that support from our friends and family so to have those closest to us in the stands will be amazing and I’m excited the club is pushing for 10,000 because it’s a great opportunity with the World Cup coming, a lot more eyes are going to be on the game now.

‘‘There’s a wave to ride that we can hop on and make the most of this. Wellington has such a wonderful football community and we’d love to get that 10,000.’’

The Phoenix never got to play in Wellington during a challenging first season in the A-league Women.

Due to the country’s tight border restrictions, the players, many of them teenagers, were forced to uproot their lives and move to Australia at short notice.

The Phoenix set up camp in Wollongong and played all of their home games out of WIN Stadium. Travel restrictions only eased once their season was over, so players’ families never got to see them play.

‘‘We had maybe six or seven fans last year and they were incredible, they did drumming and they were so loud,’’ coach Natalie Lawrence said.

‘‘Imagine the players’ parents, families and their friends finally being able to watch what they do and watch them with pride, it’s just going to give us that extra 10% we may need in the 80th minute.’’

To help them reach their goal, the Phoenix have made entry free for kids and are offering two-for-one tickets for adults.