Imagine juggling a full-time job while preparing to face football giants like Harry Kane and Bayern Munich on the world stage. For Auckland City FC, an amateur club from New Zealand, this isn`t a fantasy – it`s their reality as they navigate the unique challenges of being the only non-professional team in this summer`s expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
Auckland City is no stranger to success in their region, having dominated Oceania and won the OFC Men`s Champions League a remarkable 13 times, making them the most decorated team there. The expanded Club World Cup in the United States offers them an incredible opportunity to achieve something truly special. Their success is built on a tightly-knit group of players who play for each other, a bond described by sporting director Gordon Watson as a family.
Goalkeeper Conor Tracey shared the immense effort required: “The feeling of getting to the stage where we get to compete on this level gets better and better every time… It`s quite a big feeling because it`s a culmination of all the hard work… I go to work, I work a 40-hour week, I train, I gotta go through an hour and a half to two hours of traffic just to get to training… I miss out on a lot of my personal time because of this football.”
For those familiar with American soccer, it`s akin to a lower-league amateur team winning their regional championship and qualifying for a major international tournament. Just participating is a huge achievement for Auckland City FC. Placed in a formidable group alongside Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Boca Juniors, earning even a single point would be monumental. But ultimately, these tournaments are about testing yourself against the world`s best.
Maintaining the balance needed to reach this level is a testament to each player`s commitment. Tracey even had to end an interview early to ensure he didn`t exceed his lunch break and be late for work.
He elaborated on the scarcity of free time: “The spare time that I do have is not a lot… Even with work, my work cuts into a lot of my own time and football time. Each one has, like, grown into my personal time… Friday night I`m going to try and see my girlfriend… I`ll probably get an hour with her before I need to go to bed… All those tiny little moments you try to organize in the week leading up, so before you even get to Friday, your whole weekend is already taken up with a whole schedule.”
`Every single moment is highly treasured. We don`t get a lot of time… but wrapping back into it being a choice… that`s what separates us as a team from everyone else because everyone in our team has that choice to either do what we do which is working full time, having this huge football schedule and really eating into your own personal time… or you can live the normal life of someone else… they don`t have the 16-18 hours of football in the week on top of a 40-hour work week.`
As the only amateur side, Auckland City FC offers a unique and highly relatable perspective. Their journey highlights the sacrifices people make when pursuing passions and goals alongside professional responsibilities. Striving for success often demands difficult choices.
Right back Jordan Vale, for example, works as a teacher. Given that rugby is New Zealand`s dominant sport, the dedication shown by these players to football is particularly striking.
Traveling to the United States for the Club World Cup requires players to take time off work. Vale considered quitting his job but was able to transition to a substitute teaching role, offering more flexibility for his football commitments. Even the coaching staff face challenges; head coach Paul Rosa cannot join the team for the initial phase due to personal circumstances, leaving the team to be led by a group including Adria Casals, Ivan Vicelich, Daewook Kim, and Jonas Hoffmann.
Vale spoke about the mental toll: “Coming into this season… I was getting mentally a bit exhausted, my workload plus football, those sacrifices were kind of catching up to me… our season… goes from January to December, so we only get three or four weeks off… I was getting quite overworked… I was trying to think, how am I going to juggle and make this work this year?”
He decided to become a reliever, but his principal offered a flexible arrangement instead, allowing him to stay. This flexibility proved invaluable. “This has been a massive deloading in work where I`ve been able to find a bit more of those precious times, a bit more free time, and mentally that`s allowed me to refocus on football and still give 100% into my work.”
Such prioritization isn`t for everyone, but it reflects the character required for this team. Many players take unpaid leave or even change jobs to accommodate the demanding football schedule. Building a competitive team means finding not just talented players, but strong individuals willing to make these sacrifices. Sporting director Watson emphasizes that having characters like Vale and Tracey is absolutely critical. The commitment players show to Auckland City FC, the Navy Blues, is extraordinary.
Watson acknowledges the difficulty of these choices from a `parental` perspective. “There are tough choices… `Oh my god, don`t do that.` I did it and it`s not nice, like it`s tough, but again it`s a choice… it brings back all the sacrifice, the heartache, the disappointment… There`s no guarantee you`ll get picked… You only get one shot at this in life, one shot, one Club World Cup… Is it worth it? I think that`s a very personal choice, but I`m in awe of them.”
These matches will be viewed by a vast audience and could offer players a chance to move into fully professional leagues. A well-established path exists for players transferring from Auckland City FC to teams in Australia`s A-League, but strong performances at the Club World Cup could genuinely be life-changing.
Beyond results, the tournament creates unforgettable moments. For Jordan Vale, it`s already helping to inspire young footballers at his school. He worked with the PE teacher to promote football, using photos including previous Club World Cup moments, like him near Karim Benzema.
Vale shared a memorable anecdote about a drug test: “I walked into the room, and there was Benzema and Fabinho, who had also been randomly selected… So we got to sit in this quite cramped room and just have a chat for an hour… It was amazing.” A student, fascinated by this story, keeps asking Vale questions, now focusing on the upcoming challenge: “`Will you be able to tackle him?`”
Vale and Auckland City will soon face that test when they kick off their campaign against Bayern Munich. Their journey is already inspiring the next generation of New Zealand footballers. Sharing the pitch with global legends is a special experience, turning these amateur heroes into stars back home.
Dominic Ashworth