Hibiscus Coast Association Football Club (AFC) are first-time entrants into the Kanga Cup in 2024 and will be representing New Zealand with a strong Under-12 Open side ready to tackle new opposition.

The Greens are representing the North of Auckland at this year’s edition of the tournament, where they boast a picturesque home ground that sits adjacent to the beach.

On their 50th anniversary in 2024, ahead of their first appearance in the competition, Junior Club President Angus Goodrick says the club has come on leaps and bounds.

“We’re a very big club, we have about 1500 members, and so our aim is basically to try and get as many kids as we can playing football,” Goodrick said. “Our catchment area is massive and there’s been a real growth in population there, so we have about 10 primary schools that feed into our club and then we have two high schools that feed in.”

Hibiscus Coast’s entrance into the Kanga Cup this year materialised due to the club desiring a more competitive tournament environment, with the prospect of facing unknown Australian sides one that was welcomed by the club.

“It’s the biggest [football] festival in the southern hemisphere and I think as well because you have different divisions, so you’re not travelling overseas and playing teams where they would beat you heavily or you’d beat them, having a cup, a plate and a shield is the big attraction as well,” Goodrick said. “I think there’s so much to do in Canberra with the war memorials, and the museums, and most people have never been here before, so it’s something different.”

The team tasked with flying the flag for New Zealand is the Under-12 Open side, made up of Hibiscus Coast’s best talents.

“We have 12 teams in under-12s and this is our development team, this is our top team,” Goodrick explained. “We offer a social atmosphere but then we also offer our development program which is these boys, so for a lot of them they want to go through the pathway of perhaps the American university system, and see as far as they can go in the New Zealand system.

“We’ve had quite a few go through the American university system, one has just signed for the new Auckland team that’s in the A-League which is quite good.”

Looking at their results under Coach Paul Bateson at this year’s tournament, it’s clear that Hibiscus Coast means business in 2024, and will be a threat to all opposition in the Plate category of the Kanga Cup.

“They are undefeated this year in their club competition, last year they lost one game, they’ve been successful in New Zealand in quite a few tournaments,” Goodrick said. “We didn’t know how they would fare against Australian teams so that’s partly why we’ve come here.”

The Kanga Cup has provided an opportunity for these young talents to experience the professionalism of being a high-level footballer, ahead of their prospective careers, in an overall adventure that the players won’t forget.

“The whole point of it was to get them to feel like they’re professional footballers, travelling wearing the gear on the plane, travelling on the bus, and that’s exactly how they feel,” Goodrick explained. “They’re really anxious but excited at the same time and just really want to get it started.”

While the side have limited experience competing against Australian sides, Goodrick says the quality of the team at Bateson’s disposal is enough to fill him with confidence ahead of their matches in the tournament.

“We have about 130, 140 boys in this age group and this is our best sort of 11 or 12, so we’re thinking that they’ll do quite well,” he said. “Our coach too is an ex-professional, he used to play for Leeds [United], and he’s a very highly-qualified coach, he actually has up to Premier League qualifications, and he happens to be a dad at the same time, so he’s had them since they were eight years old.”

While Bateson has established a good brand of football at Hibiscus Coast’s Under-12 side, the performances are not the only thing the club is targeting to get out of the Kanga Cup.

“He’s been working with them, so they play a certain system playing out from the back, trying to get the ball wide and cutting in, so we hope we go well, but it’s more about the experience and fun,” Goodrick said.

Words: Sam Watson