Several senior Football Ferns have voiced their frustration over a lack of home fixtures and fan engagement, as local broadcasters pass on covering their World Cup qualifiers.
TVNZ and Sky both declined the opportunity to broadcast the Football Ferns' upcoming Women's World Cup qualifier matches in New Zealand — leaving the games available only on FIFA's streaming platform.
Three years on from hosting a momentous World Cup, Ferns defender Michaela Foster was disappointed not to have wider coverage.
"Obviously we want to have more people watch our games and," she said. "That could be due to us not being home in two years and potentially some results that we've got."
It’s understood Oceania Football pitched the rights for the qualifiers to TVNZ and Sky Sport several months ago.
The decision means the Ferns' semi-final against an opponent in Hamilton on Sunday will not air on any major New Zealand television platform or channel, despite the team training on home soil for the first time in two years.
The players acknowledged Australia had built far more momentum and fandom around their team and the women's game since co-hosting the pinnacle tournament.
"We don't have lots and lots of games each year," player Kelli Brown said. "So if we can bring some home I think that definitely keeps people involved. Broadcasting some of them a bit more [too]. FIFA Plus is great but not everyone knows how to run that up.”
Few matches at home
Since the World Cup, the Ferns have played just 29 matches, only two of them at home, both in Christchurch in April 2024.
Tournament co-hosts Australia, by contrast, have played 41 games and hosted 26.
A TVNZ spokesperson said: "Oceania Football and TVNZ discussed the Football Ferns Oceania Qualifiers earlier this year.
"Discussions with rights holders are commercially sensitive, but TVNZ has not secured these rights. As a free-to-air broadcaster, we have to make choices across a wide range of sport and programming, and it isn’t feasible for us to take every event or tournament.
"We consider how we support both men’s and women’s sport across our overall slate, and our exclusive live coverage of the ANZ Premiership starting this weekend is a strong example of how we continue to highlight and invest in women’s sport."
They added: "TVNZ has secured the rights to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and so having relevant and related coverage like the recent All Whites FIFA series in the lead up has been a priority for us."
It comes after TVNZ broadcast the men's equivalent of the same qualifiers last year, as well as the All Whites' home series last month.
The media company was also streaming the men's Oceania Pro League as it builds coverage around the upcoming men's FIFA World Cup.
Sky, which operates Sky Sport and TV3, also told 1News they turned down the broadcast.
"Sky was not able to take on broadcast coverage of the OFC Women’s World Cup qualifiers. This weekend’s Football Ferns match falls during an exceptionally busy period."
Ferns matches that have recently aired on TVNZ and FIFA+ had their broadcast rights sit with New Zealand Football, but the upcoming series is run by Oceania Football.
OFC declined to comment and would not confirm the costs associated with the rights deal when queried by 1News yesterday.
New Zealand Football said in a statement: "[We] enjoy an ongoing relationship with TVNZ and FIFA+ to broadcast our international fixtures for both the men’s and women’s teams and we look forward to continuing this for future matches."
Broadcast investment is one of several fronts where women's sport around the world continues to seek parity. But it is an issue these footballers say they will continue to raise.
Football Ferns midfielder Maya Hahn describes investment as a "feedback loop".
"We need to keep pushing for more and what we deserve in order to perform our best and I think results come through investment," Hahn told 1News.
The Football Ferns meet Fiji in the semifinal of the World Cup Qualifiers in Hamilton on Sunday.
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