Alyssa Whinham

#10 ALYSSA WHINHAM – DOB 26/10/03

> History

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 signed a new two-year contract with the Phoenix in July 2022, becoming the first women’s player to commit to the club beyond the 2022-23 season.

> 2022-23 season

Alyssa Whinham was one of eight members of the inaugural women’s squad named in the Junior Football Ferns for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

Whinham started all three of New Zealand’s group matches against Mexico, Germany and Colombia.

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

Whinham started the Phoenix’s first four matches of the A-League season, but she was unable to have the same impact as she had the previous campaign.

She returned to Christchurch after the fourth round defeat to Canberra United for personal reasons and didn’t feature for the Nix again until round 15.

Whinham made four appearances off the bench before an ankle injury forced her out of the team’s final three matches of the season.

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