The Phoenix will debut in Australia's national women's football competition tonight with plenty of enthusiasm but very little experience.
Phoenix coach Gemma Lewis Photo: PHOTOSPORT
14 years after the Phoenix men's team was founded the club's women's side will enter the A-League tonight in a game against Western Sydney Wanderers in Wollongong.
They become New Zealand's first professional women's football team.
However the club has had less than three months to get a team together and ready for their first game.
A lack of experienced players was always going to be the issue for the expansion side when they were confirmed in September.
Just a few weeks later Gemma Lewis was appointed the teams coach, becoming one of the few women coaching in the league.
Lewis says her qualifications rather than being female warranted her appointment.
"In terms of my experience in New Zealand my coaching qualifications, my background, I'm just as experienced if not more than potentially some of the male coaches that would have been up for the job and have some of the same qualifications as our All Whites head coach has," said Lewis.
Lewis does have her work cut out to have a competitive side on the park at the start of the season.
The former Wales international admits they're playing catchup with a young squad that has an average of just over 20.
22 year old midfielder Grace Jale is one of the more experienced players in the side having spent time in Europe and the United States as well as being in the New Zealand under-17 and under 20 teams.
"We're all excited but kind of nervous as well, but it's a good excitement," said Jale.
"It's the first professional experience for a lot of us and I think we're going in with a good mentality of nothing to lose."
Phoenix squad members in Wellington Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Midfielder Chloe Knott is another who has played in Europe and North America before turning out for New Zealand Premiership club Northern Lights the last two years.
She says the players have to try and turn their inexperience into a positive.
"It's almost like a strength for us because we don't have any prior experience to live up to, we're just going to go out there and do our absolute best and try to develop and improve as we go."
"It's exciting to be an underdog this year."
At the other end of the scale is 17 year old Zoe McMeeken, the youngest member of the squad having finished at Lincoln High School this year.
The defender is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in New Zealand football and she's enjoyed the challenge of being in the professional environment.
"Just turning up to training and having to push yourself so much harder."
"I'm trying to keep balanced but it's been great to be surrounded by just football."
Leading the way is goalkeeper and captain Lily Alfeld, who played for Perth last season.
She was the club's first signing and this week was named as skipper.
Alfeld says while its been a whirlwind couple of weeks, she's happy they're starting with a clean-slate and can form their own identity.
"Culturally we've established a set of rules that we want," said Alfeld.
"Because we're so young and quite inexperienced at this level I think as the season progresses we'll find our feet but you expect to see a lot of hungry girls who are happy to take the underdog role."
The Phoenix had been frustrated at the lack of commercial interest in the team, but just this week a couple of companies came onboard to support the women's team.
Phoenix captain Lily Alfeld Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Coach Gemma Lewis concedes success this season won't just about about wins, they need to take a long term approach with player development.
"If they walk away at the end of the season and they're better players and they're getting contract offers from better leagues, or they're stepping into the Matildas or the Ferns then that's what I deem as success as well."
"That doesn't mean that we're not going out there to win and do as well as we can, I just believe we'll measure success from both of those things."
Lewis says their inclusion in the league also means young New Zealand players can now see an obvious pathway into professional football.
"To really inspire players to want to commit to football I think that's really hard when you can't see a tangible outcome."
"Now they can see players not that much older than them actually stepping into the professional realm of football and I think it's going to create a big shift in the women's pathway in New Zealand and how seriously people take it or commit to it."
The Phoenix women will play 14 games in the regular season and are still hoping some of those will be back in Wellington.
