The Wellington Phoenix have named an exciting and young squad for its inaugural ASB Youth League season.
Made up of players from the Phoenix’ Wellington Academy and Soccer School in Auckland, the squad has an average age of just over 16 years.
Andy Hedge, Head of the Youth Development Programme at the Wellington Phoenix, said the Youth League is an important component of the Club’s overall youth development programme.
“The ASB Youth League is an under 20 competition, but for us we run it as an under 17 programme.
“This is consistent with the overall philosophy of the Club which is to bring through players as young as possible, testing and developing them at the youngest possible age.
“The ASB Youth side is crucial to our overall youth development programme which also includes Wellington United and the ASB Premiership sides.
‘’Combining players from our Academy – which includes a few really good internationals – and our soccer school in Auckland means we are really excited about the potential in this squad.
‘’We’re really looking forward to our first year in the ASB Youth League and the ongoing development of our Youth Programme.”
The Phoenix’ ASB Youth season kicks off this Sunday versus Hawkes Bay United at Wakefield Park, Island Bay, kick off 12pm.
At A Glance
ASB Youth League runs from Saturday 4 October to Sunday 20 December
Is a national competition of 12 teams in a straight table format with no finals series
Last year’s champions were Nelson Marlborough who have one it two of the last three seasons
Squad List
Player Name: Marcel Kampman, Position: Goalkeeper, 15/01/1998, Age: 17.47 Country of birth: New Zealand Club: Wellington United
Merlin Luke-Miny Forward 08/02/1998 17.41 New Zealand Wellington United
Sam Philip Defender 22/06/1999 16.05 New Zealand Wellington United
Jacob Anderson Midfielder 14/07/1999 15.99 New Zealand Wellington United
Patrick Tobin Forward 15/12/2000 14.59 New Zealand Palmerston North Boys High
Luke Tongue Defender 25/01/1999 16.45 New Zealand Wellington United
Calvin Harris Midfielder 20/03/2000 15.32 Britain Hong Kong Football Club
Jake Williams Forward 05/11/2000 14.70 New Zealand Nelson Suburbs
Ryosuke Shimizu Defender 19/05/1998 17.13 Japan Lincoln High School
Sam Adams Forward 14/09/2001 13.85 New Zealand Waterside Karori
Willem Ebbinge Midfielder 06/01/2001 14.53 New Zealand Queenstown Junior FC
Liam Moore Defender 05/05/2000 15.19 New Zealand Francis Douglas Memorial College
Eugenio Pizzuto Midfielder 13/05/2002 13.20 Mexico Instituto Andes San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Liam Wood Defender 30/03/1998 17.26 New Zealand Wellington United
Sam Gillespie Defender 03/08/1998 16.93 New Zealand Wellington United
Sam Wilson Defender 28/05/1998 17.10 New Zealand Wellington United
Joe Bell Midfielder 27/04/1999 16.20 New Zealand Wellington United
Washington Bgoni Goalkeeper 19/11/1998 16.64 New Zealand Wellington United
Ruairi Cahill-Fleury Midfielder 08/03/1998 17.32 New Zealand Wellington United
Noah Tipene – Clegg Midfielder 13/01/2001 14.52 New Zealand Palmerston North Boys High
Joel Peterson Defender 27/02/1998 17.35 New Zealand Wellington United
Ben Stroud Defender 08/02/1998 17.41 New Zealand Wellington United
Oliver Whyte Midfielder 20/01/2000 15.48 New Zealand Waterside Karori
Max Mata Midfielder 10/07/2000 15.02 New Zealand Onehunga Sports
Gianni Bouzoukis Forward 21/09/1998 16.79 New Zealand Wellington United
Sean Cooper Defender 16/10/1998 16.73 New Zealand Onehunga Sports
Izak Papa Midfielder 19/10/1998 16.72 New Zealand Onehunga Sports
Leon van den Hoven Midfielder 20/04/2000 15.24 New Zealand Onehunga Sports
William Gillingham Defender 07/10/1998 16.75 New Zealand Onehunga Sports
William (Billy) Jones Midfielder 01/05/1998 17.18 New Zealand Onehunga Sports
