Alyssa Whinham

DOB 26/10/03

> History

Alyssa Whinham joined the inaugural Phoenix women’s squad on a scholarship contract but quickly established herself as an integral member of the squad.

The attacking midfielder was part of the Canterbury United Pride side that won a third successive national league title in 2020, along with young Phoenix teammates Kate Taylor and Zoe McMeeken.

Whinham was also a member of the New Zealand under-17 side that finished second at the international women’s youth football tournament in China in 2019.

She was selected to attend the 2019 OFC U-16 Women’s Championship, but it was postponed to 2020 due to the measles outbreak, then cancelled due to Covid.

Whinham played for Coastal Spirit in Mainland’s WPL competition in 2021 before being one of the breakout stars of the women’s team’s inaugural season and being a finalist for the young women’s footballer of the year award.

She featured in all 14 of the Phoenix’s matches, starting 12 in a row after impressing as a substitute in the team’s opening two games.

Whinham became the club’s second ever goal scorer when the then 18-year-old found the back of the net against Brisbane Roar in January and her priceless reaction was one of the moments of the season.

She received her first Football Ferns call-up in 2022, but she didn’t feature against Japan in October.

Whinham also trained with the Ferns in the lead-up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

> 2023-24 season

Alyssa Whinham began the 23-24 A-League outside of the Phoenix first team but grew into the season and ended it as an important player.

Whinham only featured off the bench until January, when injuries handed her a first start of the campaign.

She grabbed the opportunity to impress and was heavily involved for the rest of the campaign, starting six of the team’s final seven matches.

Whinham contributed with one goal and two assists, including a slide rule pass against Perth which won the A-League assist of the season.