The Wellington Phoenix Academy have reason to be proud as nine of their players were called into camp for the New Zealand U-17 National Team last week.
The players were in Wellington from Sunday 15 April to Wednesday 18 April and it was their first meeting under the newly appointed Head Coach, José Figueira and Assistant Coach, Paul Temple.
“The ultimate goal [at the Academy] is to produce as many players for the [Phoenix] first team and for New Zealand national teams as possible” said Paul Temple.
“We’re the only place in the entire country that can have the pathways of professional football, literally in the same club, on their doorstep.”
“When the Academy boys train here at Martin Luckie and they see the first team players roll out after or they see the likes of Sarpreet [Singh] and Keegan [Smith] come back down to training and say hi, it’s a visible pathway.”
For Wellington Phoenix Academy Director, Paul Temple, these call ups are a testament to the work going on within the Academy and another confirmation that the pathways the Academy creates is beneficial for young New Zealand talent.
The full list of players called into camp is below:
Luca Taylor – Birkenhead United
Alex Paulsen – Wellington Phoenix, previously Onehunga
Thomas Poole – Caversham
Max Drake – North Shore United
Matthew Braddock – Wellington Phoenix
Harry Bark – North Shore United
Robbie Sabo – Ole Academy
Adam Hills – Wellington Phoenix
Kris Naicker – Wellington Phoenix, previously Waitakere City
David Wilson – Manurewa
Ivan Cibilich – Western Springs
Milo Brown – North Shore United
Marco Stamenic – Ole Academy
Hayden Aish – Western Springs
Jackson Manuel – Wellington Phoenix
Campbell Strong – Eastern Suburbs
Sean Bright – Ole Academy
Jayden Rodwell – Ole Academy
Ben Old – Wellington Phoenix, previously North Shore United
Ryan Verney – Onehunga Sports
Nathan Lobo – Birkenhead United
Matthew Garbett – Ole Academy
Oliver Fay – Onehunga Sports
Henry Hamilton – Wellington Phoenix
Joseph Lee – Wellington Phoenix, previously North Shore United
Oskar van Hattum – Wellington Phoenix
Keegan Maclou – Onehunga Sports
Bradley Wilson – Western Springs
