It’s official – from this month onwards, Māngere’s Ngā Hau Māngere Centre Park will be temporarily handed over to FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 organisers.
The event kicks off in July and Māngere’s Centre Park will be the training base for the Portugal National Women's team.
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board chair Tauanu’u Nick Bakulich says, “We are delighted Centre Park has been selected as a training venue, and we look forward to receiving and hosting Portugal in Mangere.”
“Parks should be welcoming spaces open to all, and Centre Park’s 21 hectares is ready to welcome this global tournament. There is going to be a real buzz in our community to have such a prestigious event with a remarkable team in Portugal, train using one of our parks, so we’re looking forward to all the great things that come with it,” adds Tauanu’u Nick.
Over the years the local board has invested not only in the playing fields but also the clubrooms and changing room facilities, to strengthen the bid to be a world-class training venue. Recently, the park has had a redevelopment for the playground, three field upgrades that include lighting, a new cricket/kilikiti wicket and commemorating the former homestead.
Anja Teaukura and Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Chair, Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich opening Māngere Centre Park playground last year.
In the build-up to the tournament, the field will not be available from late-June and from early-July when the Portugal team begin to train at the park. During this time, some parking is likely to be impacted, however, pathways and the remainder of park facilities will be open to the public, including additional temporary toilets.
The group stages of the tournament end in August, when the sports field will be returned to the community for public use.
The major event will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, across nine host cities. Nine of the matches will be in Auckland – including the opening match and a semi-final at Eden Park. Tāmaki Makaurau is hosting eight training sites, a fan festival, events, and multiple activations across the region.
The FIFA Women’s 2023 World Cup kicks off in NZ from 20 July until 20 August.
Tataki Auckland Unlimited expects the event to bring in $60 million in regional gross domestic product, 130,000 visitor nights and a global broadcast reach of more than 1.2 billion.
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