Hailing from Auckland’s North Shore, Takapuna FC have made the hop, skip, and jump across the ditch with ambitions of lifting the U15 Plate at this season’s Kanga Cup. This year marks the first time the club has participated in an international tournament at any age group, but Director of Football Daniel Semp said it’s something the club has been aiming to do for a long time.
“We’ve been looking for international opportunities for these boys, so it’s a massive step for our club and where we want to head,” Semp said. “We’ve spent a lot of time developing our youth and junior spaces over the last three years, so this is kind of like the icing on the cake for us—to come here and enjoy not only the football but being in a new environment and seeing how we can compete internationally.”
The New Zealand outfit offers elite development pathways from juniors as young as five, all the way up to seniors. The club recently partnered with Auckland FC through New Zealand Football’s Talent Development Programme (TDP), hosting elite coaching camps led by members of Auckland FC and English Premier League side AFC Bournemouth. Junior Football Director Michael Howard sees this as a huge step forward for Takapuna FC.
“Not all clubs are fortunate to have TDP, and we identified a gap with that—for clubs that can’t afford it or don’t have the setup. Unfortunately, we were one of those clubs,” Howard admitted. “So, our goal is to ensure we retain the talent within our area, and what we’ve done is offer new experiences, like this, and build excitement around future opportunities so we don’t lose players to clubs that already have that structure.”
Takapuna FC is using their first international trip to lay the foundation for future excursions and to strengthen ties with their local community—who, Howard says, have been instrumental in getting them to Canberra and continuing their involvement with the Kanga Cup.
“There are obviously questions around funding and international travel, but with local support and businesses backing this initiative, I think we’ll be able to open a lot more opportunities,” Howard said. “We had kids who couldn’t afford it, so making it accessible to everyone through community support is how we can move forward and ensure more teams participate. We’re definitely looking to bring more teams in the future.”
While Takapuna FC have ambitions to win, how the team conducts themselves on and off the pitch is just as important as results, according to Semp.
“Our boys go into every game wanting to win, but we know this is part of their development path—and you can’t win every single game,” Semp admitted. “Obviously, we want to win, but it’s also about how we respond in times of adversity and how we react when things don’t go our way. One thing we spoke about with the team last night was being humble in both victory and defeat.”
Takapuna have already embraced the spirit of the Kanga Cup, joining their opposition for a group photo after their first match—proudly displaying both a silver fern New Zealand flag and their club banner. Semp says this tradition will continue throughout the tournament.
“We’ll do that every game, no matter what,” Semp said. “That’s what we’re about, so we’ll make sure we stick to that.”
Words: James Whybrow
