Auckland City Football Club’s motivation to succeed while playing in the FIFA Club World Cup will go beyond adding to its reputation as one of the premier amateur soccer teams on the planet.
Auckland City players are excited to put the money the club will make during the tournament to good use once they return home to New Zealand.
Dylan Manickum is a 32-year-old winger who was the Golden Ball winner in the Navy Blues’ record-extending 13th Oceania Football Confederation Champions League title run. He beamed with pride Friday at Baylor School — which the team is using as its home away-from-home base for practice and preparation during the Club World Cup — as he talked about the plans to build a new synthetic turf soccer field at Auckland’s Mount Roskill Intermediate School.
“Being able to give back to the community is always nice,” said Manickum, who works in construction as an assistant site engineer in addition to being a member of New Zealand’s national futsal team — which made its FIFA Futsal World Cup debut last year — and making massive contributions while wearing No. 10 for Auckland City, including scoring two goals in the OFC Champions League.
“We have run a coaching program for quite a few years now at Mount Roskill,” Manickum explained. “Going there at lunchtime and seeing all the kids is an amazing feeling. You get to share your knowledge and see the kids having fun and enjoying playing football. Hopefully, it sparks something in them. With them getting a turf field, they will be able to play year-round. That should help grow the sport in the community and give people another platform to enjoy football.”