New Zealand may be small when compared to many of the other leading sporting countries in the world but the nation has enjoyed remarkable success.
Several sports have grown to become hugely popular in New Zealand but how does soccer compare to some of the more established sports in the country?
Rise of Soccer in New Zealand
Aukland City’s participation in the 2025 Club World Cup was another step in the right direction for soccer in New Zealand. The Navy Blues were always up against it in terms of qualifying from their group with Bayern Munich, Benfica, and Boca Juniors to play but Auckland City did well to take a point from the match with Boca Juniors, one of the biggest clubs in soccer mad Argentina. It is unlikely many fans bet on Auckland City to draw against Boca Juniors and gamblers would have felt they had more chance of winning at a casino online in NZ. However, it is not only at club level where soccer has improved in New Zealand and the national team have surpassed expectations at the World Cup. The All Whites have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, which is only going to lead to further participation in the sport and were undefeated at the 2010 World Cup, including a famous 1-1 draw with Italy.
The Statistics
The best way to measure the popularity of soccer in New Zealand is to assess Sport NZ’s Active NZ Participation Survey. The survey showed there were over 170,000 soccer players officially registered for 2024 in New Zealand and that represents a 6% growth from the previous year. Women’s participation levels in soccer enjoyed a significant growth following the 2023 World Cup, with an increase of 27%. The statistics also show what hosting a major tournament can do for the popularity of a sport in a country.
Competing Sports
Soccer is clearly becoming popular in New Zealand but it is competing with other, more established sports in the country. Both rugby union and rugby league are massive in New Zealand and the domestic rugby competitions are bigger than the soccer leagues in the country. The All Blacks are one of the most famous sports teams on the planet and even had their own Amazon documentary. Rugby rivalries in New Zealand begin at school, with the rivalry between King’s College and Auckland Grammar being a prime example. Playing rugby and being the best at the sport has become a national obsession for New Zealand and soccer is going to find it tough to become more popular than rugby union.
Cricket and netball are two of the other leading sports in New Zealand. Cricket, along with rugby, is another sport at which New Zealand excels on the international stage. World Test Champions in 2021 and runners-up twice in the World Cup, the men’s cricket team are superb and soccer has a long way to go before it can compete with cricket and rugby in terms of international success. However, soccer is quickly growing and in terms of participation, it is proving just as popular as the other leading team sports in New Zealand.
