By Jane Luscombe
After 27 years of waiting, New Zealand Football now has seven months to capitalise on the All Whites' popularity in the run-up to the World Cup finals.
The question on all New Zealander’s lips though, is can the beautiful game ever hope to compete with rugby?
All Whites coach Ricki Herbert's old school Papatoetoe High in South Auckland is divided on the subject, but principal Peter Gall predicts the win will see a large boost to the sport.
“Football is very popular here, we have got seven teams and we would have more if we could find the coaches and find the funding available to support them,” he says.
More than 250 schools compete in tournaments run by the New Zealand Secondary Schools Football Association. But with 450 secondary schools in the country, there is huge room for expansion.
That said, more boys aged five to 17 play football than any other game, and it's popular with girls too.
Otago University sports lecturer Mike Sam says football can compete against rugby in some aspects.
“In terms of cultural significance probably never, but in terms of participation numbers and general interest, I think it can meet it,” he says.
New Zealand Football chairman Frank van Hattum played in goal for the All Whites in 1982 when they last qualified for the World Cup. He says football will not take over from rugby, but hopes to tempt some of the largely untapped pool of Polynesian players to change code.
“They are tremendously talented people and it's not been an option for them, and they are now seeing it and saying, ‘Hey this is great,’ and so we will continue to work on that,” he says.
The problem for football, as in all sports, is persuading teenagers to keep on playing once they leave school.
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