Amateur players from Auckland City embark on an unpaid trip for their Club World Cup journey
The Unlikely Contenders: New Zealand's Amateur Champions Take on the World
In a world of professional football superstars and billion-dollar tournaments, the amateur side of Auckland City FC from New Zealand stands out like a sore thumb. With players juggling university studies, teaching jobs, or work as real estate agents and sales reps, they show up to events like the Club World Cup on their own terms.
Their debut at this year's Club World Cup pits them against giants such as Bayern Munich, featuring prolific striker Harry Kane, and other storied heavyweights like Benfica and Boca Juniors. Auckland City striker Angus Kilkolly can hardly contain his excitement: "It's our dream group. To be on the same pitch as these teams is a little surreal."
Despite the daunting opposition, Kilkolly remains focused on their team's unique identity and style of play. "We're a family club where everyone's welcome. We've got a nice, boutique club room, and everybody enjoys a drink after the game," he told AFP as he headed to his sales job.
Auckland City, the 13-time Oceania Champions League winners, have been a consistent presence at the Club World Cup since 2006. Their impressive run included a third-place finish in the 2014 edition. This year's Club World Cup presents a new challenge, with FIFA transforming it into a 32-team competition that now welcomes powerhouses like Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Inter Milan.
Unpaid and Unbothered
Football eats up every available moment for Kilkolly, leaving him little time for a proper holiday for the past three or four years. The 29-year-old works as a sales manager for a power tools firm, maintaining a hectic schedule that includes 7:30 a.m. start times, training sessions three or four times a week, and 9:00 p.m. home times. He doesn't earn a wage for football but receives a cap of 150 New Zealand dollars a week for basic expenses like gym membership.
Joining Kilkolly and the rest of the Auckland City squad in the United States for nearly a month, his employer is understanding and shares a love for football. "It's not easy, it's four weeks' leave, but I don't have four weeks' annual leave so there's unpaid leave going there."
For Kilkolly and his teammates, competing on a world stage like the Club World Cup is an opportunity to experience what it feels like to be professional footballers without actually being one. "I think he [Harry Kane] earns more in a week than I earn in a year working," Kilkolly chuckles.
Their unconventional approach to the beautiful game has earned them recognition and respect, becoming a source of inspiration for future generations of New Zealand footballers. Their journey to the top serves as a testament to the power of dedication, strong community support, and the grit to defy odds.
In the realm of their ordinary lives, Angus Kilkolly and his football companions from Auckland City FC juggle university studies, jobs as sales reps and real estate agents, yet they manage to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup, normally a domain of professional teams. Despite the stark contrast with powerhouses like Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Inter Milan, this sports occasion is a dream for Kilkolly, as these European leagues and the Champions League pale in comparison to the experience of stepping onto the same field as them. Despite their United States employer understanding his unpaid leave for the Club World Cup tournament, Kilkolly cannot help but be amused by the vast wage disparity between him and notable footballers like Harry Kane.
