Ella McMillan

Ella McMillan was one of four academy graduates to sign a two-year scholarship contract with the Wellington Phoenix in August 2024.

The young centre back 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.

Her parents joined her in the capital in 2023 when her younger sister Libby joined the academy.

McMillan was a mainstay of the women’s reserves side for the 2023 and 2024 seasons and often wore the captain’s armband.

She trained with the first team throughout the 2023-24 A-League and made her senior debut at the end of the drama-filled 2-0 win over Canberra United at Porirua Park in January 2024.

McMillan also featured off the bench in a match against Western United the following month.

She was named the women’s academy player of the year at the Phoenix awards night in April and was then influential in the reserves’ first foray into the Kate Sheppard Cup, which dramatically ended with a semi-final defeat to reigning champions Auckland United.

McMillan represented New Zealand at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India in 2022 and was a key member of the Junior Football Ferns side at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.

> 2024-25 season

Ella McMillan made two appearances off the bench in her first season as a pro. They were both in November.

In December McMillan was appointed the academy’s youth female sport scientist, having completed her Bachelor of Sport, Exercise and Health degree at Auckland University of Technology, majoring in sport and exercise science.

She juggled her fledgling football career with her new role over the second half of the season.