Wellington Phoenix FC Tryouts
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under license from Football Federation Australia.
Wellington Phoenix FC Youth Development System
The Wellington Phoenix Football Club is committed to the development of talented young footballers. The Wellington Phoenix Academy offers a proven youth player development programme that brings high school education and football together in an inspirational and creative environment. The Academy is open to students from all around New Zealand and provides multiple pathways for future development.
The Academy has been operating for over five years starting with a FSE programme in 2013. Current operations are now located at Martin Luckie Park, Berhampore, Wellington, New Zealand.
The programme focuses on providing a tailored programme and environment for each member to maximise their football and academic potential. The well-being of the footballer is prioritised to ensure on-going success, with future pathway options at the forefront of each individualised programme.
The Academy accepts footballers (aged 12 to 17 years) on an invitation basis with membership of the Academy revised yearly in line with sport and academic performance targets. The academy programme includes, weekly, full-time and full-time residential programmes available to enable each participant maximal opportunity to reach their goals.
At the Academy, there is a close operating relationship with the Wellington Phoenix First Team. In addition, the Academy is experienced and committed to developing individual pathways suited to all players, according to their specific circumstances. These may include overseas professional clubs and sports scholarships to Universities in NZ, USA and other countries. For more information about the Wellington Phoenix Academy please visit www.wpfa.org.nz
Academy Trials & Recruitment
If you are interested in attending the Academy we recommend you attend one of our Phoenix Experience camps, this will give you a flavour for the Academy and put you in front of Academy Coaches who can assess your potential. To register an expression of interest to attend a camp please email [email protected], you will then receive a link to complete the expression of interest information.
If you are based in New Zealand you can apply for the Academy by filling out the form on the ‘Contact Us’ page but we also require you to email to [email protected], a current football CV, references from your club or school coach and your local Federation. Players would need to be playing at the highest level possible in their region to be considered.
The Academy is based at the Ricoh Centre, Fraser Park, Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. Players must reside in Wellington to attend the Academy.
The Academy programme runs all year round from February to November for players aged U13 to U21. Players from U13 – U15 train 3x per week plus a game, players U17 to U21 train 4x per week plus a game. Training programmes are supplemented with age-appropriate sports science support which includes injury prevention, strength & conditioning, football fitness, wellness and GPS data. Players also get access to physiotherapy, rehabilitation plans and return to play support when injured.
The Academy uses Hudl as it’s online performance analysis tool, all Academy players are up-skilled in using performance analysis as part of their on-going development.
The Wellington Phoenix plays in the A-League, all other A-League Academies are based in Australia and therefore the Academy plays as part of the Wellington regional competitions against clubs from around the Capital & Central Football area. Our U21, U19 & U17 Teams play in senior Men’s competitions, while our U16, U14 & U13 Teams play in the TDP youth leagues. Our U15 Girls play against boys in the U13 TDP youth league.
The off-season is December & January.
THE PHOENIX EXPERIENCE (TALENT ID CAMPS)
The Phoenix Experience is designed to give aspiring elite footballers across New Zealand a taste of what it’s like to be part of the Wellington Phoenix. The camps last 3 days. Players will do two training sessions each day with the time between spent analyzing Phoenix games and getting professional football advice on mentality, nutrition & time management. As a guide player’s attending should be playing at the highest level possible in their age group. Click here for more dates and information.
Run by full-time Wellington Phoenix Academy coaching staff, the training camp will consist of the following:
• Two elite level coaching sessions per day
• Video analysis and injury prevention sessions
• Q & A with current Phoenix Academy Players
• Phoenix training kit
WELLINGTON PHOENIX PRE-ACADEMY
Pre-Academy centres (PAC) are a stepping stone into the Wellington Phoenix Academy programme. The PAC targets players in the Skill Acquisition Phase (9-12) and looks to build on their key skills and confidence in players ability to take the next step in their football journey. These sessions are intended to compliment a players community football development. Click here for more dates and information.
Academy Frequently Asked Questions
How do I join the Academy?
You can contact us here if you are interested in attending the Academy. Your details will be sent through to our coaching team but the most common way to join the Academy is through being scouted and contacted by our Academy coaches. We don’t hold trial days but we do run Phoenix Experience Camps in the school holidays which is another way to be seen.
How does it work with schooling?
Wellington has a number of excellent high schools across the city. Players can attend any school they like, it has no impact on the Academy, however the closer the schools are to the City Centre the better as it’s quicker and easier to get to the training ground each day after school. We also have a great relationship with Scots College who are the only high school in Wellington Central who provide boarding. A number of our out of town players board and attend Scots College.
Training doesn’t clash with school and the Academy breaks for school holidays (except for our U20 Team) so it has no negative impact on your child’s schooling.
Where do the Academy train?
The main training base is at Ricoh Sports Centre, Lower Hutt Berhampore, this is where the Academy HQ is and staff work from. Academy training is all done on the full-sized artificial turf at Ricoh Sports Centre turf, the academy also has a Wellington City training group at Boyd Wilson Field, Victoria University.
What competitions do the Academy play in?
The Academy has a partner club (Lower Hutt City AFC) for regional winter competitions. Our Team s competes as Lower Hutt City AFC between April and August.
During the summer season that runs from October to March, we play as the Wellington Phoenix. Our U20 Team play in the ISPS Handa Premiership. The two younger age groups take part in high quality organized friendlies against teams from around the county.
How big is the Academy?
The Academy currently has 60 full-time players spread across U20s, U18s & U16s age groups. There is between 18-20 in each squad. We also have a full-time Operations Manager, Academy Director, Sports Scientist and two further coaches. Other part-time staff include Head Physio and two Assistant Physio’s, Player Development Manager and three Assistant Coaches.
EXPLORE MORE CLUBS!
Explore more professional clubs by continent.
History
Phoenix was a New Zealand-based club that competed in the Australian A-League competition. It was formed in March 2007 by New Zealand Football to take the place of the New Zealand Knights as a New Zealand-based club in the Australian A-League competition. Phoenix debuted in the competition during the 2007–08 season.
The club is one of the few clubs in the world that compete in a league of a different confederation (AFC) than that of the country in which it is based. This distinction gives the club an advantage over other clubs throughout the world (OFC).
The club’s most notable accomplishment was making it all the way to the A-League Preliminary Final in 2010. The club typically plays its home games at Sky Stadium (formerly known as Westpac Stadium), a multi-purpose venue in Wellington with a capacity of 34,500 seats.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the club has been forced to relocate temporarily to Wollongong, which is located in the state of New South Wales in Australia. The horizontal stripes of black and yellow make up their home kit.