Auckland City: The Amateur Representative at the Club World Cup
In the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup, Auckland City, an amateur team, presents itself as an atypical competitor. However, according to goalkeeper Conor Tracey, the club has a greater purpose: to represent the majority of the world’s footballers. An important clarification is that this is not about Auckland FC. The New Zealand league is not fully professional, which leads to Wellington Phoenix and Auckland FC playing in the A-League Men of Australia. This complicates the situation, since, as New Zealand belongs to the Oceania Football Confederation and Australia to the Asian Football Confederation, Phoenix and Auckland FC, owned by the American billionaire Bill Foley, have an ambiguous position that prevents them from participating in continental club competitions. This has opened the door for Auckland City to become the face of Oceania on the global stage. With 13 OFC Champions League titles, they have established themselves as a prominent team in New Zealand, participating in 10 Club World Cup editions. In 2014, they achieved a third-place finish, defeating Cruz Azul of Mexico on penalties. Unlike their previous participations, which ended after a single match, this year’s expanded edition guarantees them at least three encounters in a group that includes Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Boca Juniors.From their Tennessee base for the tournament, Tracey confirmed that, as a New Zealander, he likes the local barbecue. City will begin their campaign against the Bundesliga champions at TWL Stadium in Cincinnati. This is a battle between David and Goliath. The Bavarians are Germany’s most successful club and six-time European champions; Auckland City is an amateur team that plays in the New Zealand Men’s National League.Each previous Club World Cup involved preparing for a single match. It’s unique in itself and has been great. But having three matches of that magnitude guaranteed, and we could say, against bigger clubs, is fantastic.
Conor Tracey
According to FIFA data, there are only 128,876 professional players worldwide, a small proportion of the 250 million who play football in some capacity. While fatigue is a recurring issue for the football elite, the Auckland amateur team also faces its own challenges. Playing in the second of three major tournaments this year, along with their league and national cup commitments, the Club World Cup joins the OFC Champions League and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Most of the team is made up of players who combine their football commitments with full-time jobs. Some still live at home or are completing university studies, combining them with part-time jobs. Outside of football, Tracey works in a supervisory position at a veterinary supply warehouse, overseeing the distribution of pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, and controlled medications to veterinarians throughout New Zealand. Before leaving for the United States, she took on additional responsibilities and added overtime, feeling the effects of working without rest.We are, without being egotistical, those who represent 99.9% of the footballers out there. 0.1% are professionals, but we are the rest, and it’s not easy.
Conor Tracey
Holidays are always a problem, it’s never easy. When I joined this company, I told them: ‘If you want to hire me, I’d love to be here, but the problem is that I’ve already committed to football’.
Conor Tracey
In the field, although Auckland City usually dominates at home, they are aware that it will not be the case when they face the European and South American giants in the coming weeks. The New Zealand team has not focused on the individual power of their rivals, but on how they will operate as a collective unit, both in possession and out of it. After a 1-0 defeat against Al Ain, Asian champion in 2024, in their last preparation match, that narrow defeat came less than a year after the 6-2 defeat suffered against the Emirati team in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024.
They are working on their shape, formation, and tactics to adapt to what they expect. They face Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Boca Juniors, world-renowned teams. Everything they have done so far is preparing them, realistically, for how the match will unfold. They have worked hard in Oceania and New Zealand, and they have already been successful in that regard. They have worked very hard to get where they are, and they are already proud of what they have done. Just getting to this tournament is already a success in itself.That’s what we’ve been training for. We know how we do it with other teams, now it’s going to be completely the other way around; that’s what we expect anyway.
Conor Tracey
