Young Football Ferns

The Young Football Ferns are New Zealand’s national U-17 women’s football team.

This year will be a huge adventure for the girls as they get set to play in the first ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch from October 28 to November 16, 2008.

All FIFA tournaments are run the same as the main FIFA World Cup - the biggest sporting event on the planet - so it's a chance to taste that atmosphere here in New Zealand. It will be a fantastic spectacle with teams from 16 countries in attendance after a qualification process involving over 100 countries. In addition more than 150 territories have media rights for broadcasting the event.

Football is now the largest female sport in the world, with an estimated 40 million players participating in over 150 countries. The growth of women’s football in New Zealand mirrors this trend with already one in three junior players being a girl. Hosting this inaugural FIFA event offers New Zealand a further opportunity to increase player numbers (of both boys and girls), and also to raise the profile of women’s football.

So spread the word - get excited! Follow the Young Football Ferns as they aim for World Cup glory in 2008!

To find out more on your favourite player click here 

To visit the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup page click here

Check out the Young Football Ferns' results on the road to the World Cup

Also - take a look at the Young Football Ferns' very own blog site