Four standout players from the Wellington Phoenix women’s reserves team have been rewarded with their maiden professional contracts.
Goalkeeper Aimee Danieli, centre back Ella McMillan, attacking midfielder Ela Jerez and striker Ella McCann have graduated to the Phoenix first team on two-year scholarship deals.
The quartet are all key members of the women’s reserves side that progressed to the final four of the Kate Sheppard Cup before being narrowly beaten by reigning National League champions Auckland United.
Danieli, McMillan and McCann, all 19, were yesterday named in the New Zealand squad for the upcoming FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia, while Jerez, 16, helped the national team qualify for this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
“It’s the best part of the job being able to sit down with the players and their families and to tell them they’re getting offered contracts,” Phoenix women’s head coach Paul Temple said.
“It’s a journey for the players and their families to get to this point, and it’s fantastic to be able to reward them for all the hard work and sacrifices they’ve made with their first opportunity in professional football.
“These four are the cream of the crop in their positions at the academy and I’ve got no doubt they can make the step up to the first team.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in our academy and what’s going on at Fraser Park, so to be able to give our scholarship contracts to our homegrown academy players for a second straight year is really awesome for us as a club.”
Aimee Danieli joined the Phoenix academy at the start of last year and spent the 2023-24 Liberty A-League with the first team as an amateur, making her debut as a second-half substitute in the final match of the season.
“Last season was really cool,” Danieli said. “I got an opportunity to be on the bench for a few matches and I got 10 minutes in an A-League game which was awesome.
“It’s been a dream of mine to play for the Phoenix since the women’s team was established.
“Being involved in the first team has been a dream come true and I couldn’t be happier to sign my first professional contract with the Nix.”
She started her footballing journey at Eastern Suburbs in Auckland and played for Cambridge FC, Hamilton Wanderers and Auckland United before moving to Wellington.
“Kim Brierley was my goalkeeper coach at Cambridge FC and he was the person that really kick-started my development as a 15-year-old.
“Tessa Nicol has also assisted me a lot in the New Zealand under-17 and under-20 environments, and having Nick Stanton at the academy has been really, really helpful.
“Nick’s helped me push into the pro environment so credit to him for all of the time and effort he’s put in.”
Ella McMillan too has already made her A-League bow. She made two appearances off the bench last season after spending time with the first team as a training partner.
She also is now realising her childhood dream of becoming a professional footballer.
“As a little kid I always just wanted to play football and to be able to sign a professional contract,” McMillan said.
“Now that my family all live in Wellington the Phoenix are my home club so it’s super exciting to be sign with the Nix.
“A special thanks to my coaches at the academy, Katie Barrott and Callum Holmes, because they’ve been really big parts of my journey.”
The defender is proudly from Waikato and played for Hukanui Rototuna, Northern United, Cambridge FC and Melville United before joining the academy at the start of 2022.
“I had some really good coaches at Melville like Sam Wilkinson, Michael Mayne and Tarena Ranui, who helped me a lot to get to where I am today.”
Her mum and dad, Jo and Craig, followed her down to the capital last year when younger sister Libby joined her at the academy.
“It was really nice to get the good news with them beside me because they’ve always supported me with my football and been there for me through the ups and downs.
“I’m really grateful for all of the sacrifices they’ve made to help me get to where I am today.”
Ella McCann hails from Māpua, a small town west of Nelson, and played for Māpua Rangers FC, Tasman United Academy, Nelson FC and Canterbury United Pride before moving to Wellington at the start of last year.
“I remember watching the Phoenix playing on TV and being like ‘that’s where it’s at’ so I reached out to Paul [Temple], spoke on zoom, went over for a two-week trial and never went home,” McCann said.
“I’ve really enjoyed the tactical and technical side of being at the academy and having something bigger to work towards too.
“You’ve always got that goal of trying to get in the first team which keeps you progressing.”
The striker, who was the reserves’ leading scorer in last year’s National League, is “pretty stoked” to have now ticked off that goal of graduating to the first team.
“It’s something that I’ve always worked towards.
“When I tell people that I’ve moved to Wellington to play football they sometimes have an adverse reaction as they don’t think it’s going to work out, so it’s nice to see things going in the right direction.”
As well as former coaches Diarmuid Brazendale and Alana Gunn, McCann has thanked her parents, Belinda and Lawrence, for their support.
“Being in Nelson I had to travel to Christchurch every couple of weeks so it’s been an expensive journey to get to where I am, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without them.”
Ela Jerez only joined the academy at the start of this year, having shone for Auckland club Western Springs in the 2023 National League after playing for Onerahi FC and Northland FC in Whangārei.
Her parents, Rochelle and Isaac, made the move to Wellington with her and were the first to learn about the Phoenix’s contract offer.
“It was so exciting,” Jerez said. “I actually couldn’t believe it.
“My dad came with me to talk to Paul and then we went straight out to the car and I called my mum and she was so happy. It was pretty awesome.
“A pro contract was always what I was aiming for, but I had no idea it would come this quickly.”
The creative midfielder “doesn’t know if I would have been able to do it” without her parents and is appreciative of everyone who’s helped her on her footballing journey, including past and present reserves team coaches Katie Barrott and Callum Holmes.
“Even though I’ve only been at the academy for a short period of time they’ve had a big influence on me.
“They’ve really supported everything that I’ve done. Support is something that’s really important for me and it really helps me as a player.”
Last season’s scholarship players Olivia Ingham and Daisy Brazendale have both been promoted to fulltime contracts, which run until the end of the 2025-26 A-League season.
There are now 15 players in Paul Temple’s first team squad with the club hopeful of announcing further signings and re-signings in the coming weeks.
