Auckland FC boss on the stunning rise of the A-League’s newest side

By Michael Burgess

By any measure, Auckland FC have been a big success. For a new club, they have already created a footprint, capturing the imagination while also performing on the field. Ahead of Wednesday’s top-of-the-table clash in Adelaide, which marks the halfway point of their season, Michael Burgess caught up with chief executive Nick Becker.

How do you reflect on the first half of this campaign?

It’s been great. If you had told me back in September we’d be top of the table for the majority of the season so far and have the support we’ve had across the city I would have called you a liar. We had big expectations, but this has exceeded them. We are definitely beyond where we hoped we would be.

Looking back, were you nervous before this all started, that maybe it wouldn’t take off?

We did our research and we were always quietly confident that that would have support in Auckland, especially in the way that football’s growing in terms of participation numbers. I guess what we were unsure about was if we would get that buy-in from the whole city, how successful we would be using Go Media Stadium and would we get the different cultures and communities in Auckland to support us.

The football community had seen a couple of previous iterations but otherwise hasn’t had any professional team – no direct connection to the A-League other than a couple of Wellington Phoenix games each season. Were they going to get behind us? I was always pretty confident of success but the speed of what’s happened has blown me away.

Owner Bill Foley must be a happy man. I’ve heard he is on the phone after every game?

He is happy with how things are going, both on and off the pitch. We said from the start we weren’t here to make up the numbers on the field and that we wanted to embed ourselves across Auckland’s diverse communities. I speak to Bill either before or after every game and he’s been really positive about the results to date.

What has been the high point so far?

Our first match against Brisbane. Everything we had planned and discussed and hoped for came to life – and people really bought into the club. And seeing how many families and young kids were at the game and thinking, they will remember that and create long memories that they’ll hold on to, potentially creating generations of fans.

What about a low point?

Staying up till 11.45pm [on Saturday 11 January] and then watching 90 minutes of away football in Perth and losing 1-0. It is probably recency bias, but I was frustrated because the team are much better than that.

Going forward, how will you maintain the interest and the crowds?

Just continue to do what we have done. We try to play attacking, exciting football. Build that connection with Auckland as a city and the football community. And we want to continue to evolve and add new things into our matchday experience, so going to our games appeals to the whole family and everybody who’s interested in both sport and live entertainment. That’s the real focus for us.

You must be enjoying seeing replica shirts everywhere?

It’s an amazing feeling seeing all the shirts in Auckland and at holiday spots over the Christmas break. We’ve sold more than 20,000 kits to date and we are working hard to keep up with the demand.

The next derby, on February 22, is expected to sell out again. There has been talk about Eden Park. Have you considered that option?

I know there have been murmurings about that, but for me year one is all about building a fortress at Go Media stadium and creating our home.

How would you describe the relationship with the Phoenix? Is it a bit strained?

No, I don’t think so. We have a lot of respect for them. They’ve flown the flag for professional football in New Zealand over the past 17 years and done a great job. Having competition is really healthy and a rivalry that’s become so strong so quickly is also fantastic. The fans love it. Before Aucklanders basically only had one choice – to support Wellington – now they’ve got their own team.

Our relationship with the Phoenix is really good. We get on with them well, outside of the derby windows. In the windows, it’s fair to say that we enjoy a little bit of banter and rivalry. But it stays the right side of the line and it’s a lot of fun.

How is progress with the formation of the women’s team?

We are on track. We’ll have a head coach appointed by early-February at the latest and we’ll start talking straight away to players that both [director of football] Terry [McFlynn] and the head coach are keen to approach. We want a team with a backbone of Kiwi players.

What happened with Joey Champness, who was signed but never made a matchday squad before leaving after eight games?

Joey and the club came to a mutual-agreement position, shook hands and went separate ways. He’s a great kid and I hope, whatever his next venture is – in football or business – it’s a huge success.

What’s it like talking with potential sponsors now, compared with those first few calls a year ago when you were selling a dream on a piece of paper?

Obviously, it’s a lot easier to get a meeting and we even have some inbound calls these days! I’m proud of the impressive list of brands that have come on and supported the club in our first year. And 2025 is going to be another massive year.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission