Fraser rises from mascot to influencer
Macey Fraser once made the trip into Christchurch from Rangiora to walk out onto Lancaster Park alongside Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante, when his side played an A-League Men match in the city in early 2010.
Fourteen years later, she is now a Phoenix player herself, and on Saturday, her family and friends made the journey into town to watch her play at Apollo Projects Stadium.
Playing her fourth match for the Football Ferns, in a year where she is hoping to be on the plane to the Paris Olympics in late July, Fraser had a mascot of her own holding her hand as she took the field – a local footballer from the Canterbury region – then posed with more fans for photos afterwards.
Fraser posted a photo of her and Durante on Instagram last week and ahead of the Ferns’ 4-0 win over Thailand – and their rematch at the same venue tonight – she reflected on how it’s now her sharing moments with little kids who have big dreams.
“I want to inspire young kids and especially young girls,” Fraser said. “I would always watch boys when I was growing up – boys were almost always my role models – so the fact that I’m walking out and I can hold a little girl’s hand, it's really cool for me.’’
Fraser had long been tipped for big things as a prodigious technical talent, and was a member of the New Zealand team that won a historic bronze medal at the 2018 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay, but as recently as last August she wasn’t close to being on the Ferns’ radar.
Wellington Phoenix coach Paul Temple’s decision to back her with a three-year contract ahead of the 2023-24 A-League Women season has paid off big time, not only for the club – who benefited to the tune of three goals and five assists – but for the player.
“It’s been a huge, huge year for me,” Fraser said. “I’m really grateful that Paul gave me the opportunity to have my first professional season and gave me that stage tostepon.’’