Buoyed by recent Government relaxation of COVID-19 rules, Wellington Phoenix have confirmed two real home fixtures on this side of the Tasman next month.
Marooned in Australia for their third consecutive season, the capital side has been reluctant to schedule games in New Zealand, while there was a risk of borders closing suddenly and under tight crowd limits.
Both those situations have eased in recent weeks, with stadia finally opened up to spectators this week, allowing more surety around planning. As a result, A-League organisers have relocated the Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners to Wellington's Sky Stadium on April 17, with the Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers at Auckland's Eden Park on April 24.
"We can’t wait to play in front of our fans again," says Phoenix general manager David Dome. "We hope it will be the boost the team needs to push them into the finals in May.
"We're thrilled to come back home to Wellington first, and then travel to Auckland to meet some of our extremely important commercial obligations and play in New Zealand’s biggest city.
"We want as many of our supporters as possible to see the Phoenix play, after being starved of football over the past two years.
Dome has been one of the most vocal advocates of lifting COVID restrictions on sports, but also the most cautious, insisting there was no point scheduling home games, while crowd limits were in place.
Wellington last played in New Zealand in May 2021, luring 24,000 faithful to Sky Stadium for a 3-0 win over Western United - and former captain Andrew Durante's retirement party - then 22,000 to Eden Park for 2-2 draw with Perth Glory.
