Soccer in New Zealand

Association football, also known as football or soccer, is a popular recreation sport in New Zealand. The sport is administered in New Zealand by the governing body New Zealand Football (NZF). It is the third-most popular men’s team sport after rugby union and cricket.

Football is one of the most popular participation sport for young people in New Zealand. Among boys ages 5–17, it is the most participated in sport, with a 17 percent participation rate; among girls, it ranks fifth in popularity at six percent, behind swimming, netball, horse riding, and tennis. Among New Zealand adults, it is the 12th most participated in sport, at seven percent.

Seven regional federations participate in the administration and promotion of the sport in New Zealand:

New Zealand's senior men's side, the All Whites, has qualified twice for the FIFA World Cup. In 1982 the qualification was notable in that New Zealand played more matches (15) and traveled further (55,000 miles) than any other team to qualify. Grouped with Brazil, Scotland and the USSR, New Zealand did not win any of their matches. They also qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. New Zealand drew all their matches and did not progress beyond the initial round. They were the only team to remain undefeated in the competition.

New Zealand also participated in the 2009 Confederations Cup, also in South Africa. They were placed in Group A with Iraq, South Africa, and Spain. New Zealand lost their opening match 0-5 against Spain before losing 0-2 to South Africa. However the team earned New Zealand's first competition point at a senior men's FIFA tournament after drawing 0-0 with Iraq. In the 2010 World Cup, they again exited in the first round, but had far more success on the field than in 1982 or in the Confederations Cup. The All Whites drew 1–1 with Slovakia and defending champion Italy and 0–0 with Paraguay.