The excitement is starting to bubble for former Football Fern Maia Jackman, as she — and the rest of the country — prepare for New Zealand to co-host the Fifa Women’s World Cup with Australia in just over two months.
Jackman (47), who played 50 games for New Zealand from 1993 to 2012, is a Beyond Greatness Champion for this year’s tournament and did not shy away when talking about the impact the global event will have on New Zealand.
"I’m talking men’s rugby — it supersedes that. It’s so huge, people don’t know yet.
"The viewership that they got at the last Women’s World Cup in 2019 was 1.1 billion. We’re looking at 2 billion.
"I think there’s about 30,000 people coming and 20,000 from the US. It’s said to impact the economy by $200 million.
"You look from a sports perspective, definitely huge, but then travel, economy and all that stuff — it’s a game changer."
She was certain there would be an uptake of girls, and boys, playing football following the World Cup.
Jackman played for the Football Ferns at the 2007 World Cup, but growing up, she never envisioned it would end up right on her back doorstep.
"I remember as a 15-year-old watching the 1991 first World Cup and going ‘that’s what I want to do, I want to play for my country in a World Cup’ which I did, which was amazing.
"If you said to me when I was 15 this would come ... I would have been like, ‘no way’.
"I’m so so jealous of the girls that get to do it, but I think they understand what a massive opportunity this is this for, not just them, the whole country."
Women’s football had come a long way from that first World Cup and she wanted people to see for themselves the impact the sport had globally.
"It’s just the spectacle of the sport now, and the level of how the women are playing now is unbelievable.
"I don’t think people will appreciate that until they see it live.
"We’ve got like 30,000 people coming, but I’d love to see more Kiwis than outsiders at these games ... just for people to get an appreciation for this global sport."
Dunedin hosts six games — the only games played in the South Island — including the Football Ferns’ game against Switzerland, which will be based in city, on July 30.
The Football Ferns last won a game against the Philippines 2-1 in September last year, but remain winless after seven games this year.
They have been under "injury clouds" and struggled for consistency, with players strewed across the world and not familiar with each other, she said.
They were filtering back in now, and with 63 days until the World Cup gets under way, it was a really important time on and off the field.
"No, they haven’t had the results that we were hoping for, but you know, a World Cup tournament is a whole different kettle of fish.
"World Cup tournaments can just bring out the best in people when you haven’t seen it yet.
"They’ve got some work to do, but we know that they’ll be putting in the hard yards over the next little wee while."
Since retiring, Jackman’s "passion" has been poured into raising her daughter, Kaea (8), and her physio career, but she recently returned to playing football.
And if she had one request of the public before the biggest event hitting our shores, it was this — "just be part of history".
"Come and watch these epic women play because they’re amazing."
