Tours
2023 California FC Girls Soccer Tour
FIFA Women’s World Cup, New Zealand
July 19 - August 1, 2023
Our 55 person California FC U12/U14 tour team was comprised of SoCal Blues 2010 ECNL, San Diego Surf 2010 ECNL, PSV Union FC 2010, Bay Area Surf 2010 ECNL players coached by former LA Sol/WPS Coach of Year Abner Rogers and Dynamic Soccer owners Gary Ireland and Carine Ireland.
The tour started and ended in Auckland with a stop in Wellington and we watched 6 FIFA World Cup games, including the New Zealand v Norway opening ceremony, USA v Vietnam, Argentina v Italy, Spain v Zambia, Sweden v Italy and USA v Portugal.
“We wanted to try something different with parents booking their own hotels and flights and internal travel which allowed everyone maximum flexibility. Unlike other tours where we selected the flight, accommodation, this tour allowed parents to enjoy quality time with their children and share the experience. It worked brilliantly thanks to Carine who arranged everything!”
— Dynamic Soccer owner Gary Ireland
California FC opponents provided a mixture of competition defeating Hibiscus United and Northern Rovers 10:0 and 10:1 respectively, lost 4:1 to Japanese (J-League) club Shonan Bellmare 09G, lost 1:0 to (A-League) New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix 09G and tied 1:1 vs Wellington Phoenix 08/09G at the Sweden women's national team FIFA training base.
“The trip to New Zealand was a trip of a lifetime! Not only did the players get to see and enjoy this beautiful country, but got some good games in as well as watched 6 World Cup games. I couldn't pick one highlight as there was so many, but the game with Japan's 2009 club team stands out, and hopefully our players/parents can see how far we are behind both technically and tactically”
— Abner Rogers 2009 & 2010 Socal Blues coach.
A customized team uniform was created especially for the tour, and it was based on the Wellington Phoenix kit design, including the Maori ‘tohu’ design. New Zealand Women's Football icon, former New Zealand Women's Football President, FIFA Women's Development & former New Zealand Football Foundation President Michele Cox was the special guest at our luncheon event, and did a book read of her book trilogy 'Sammy.' The event also featured a guest appearance from her mother Barbara Cox, founder of New Zealand women's football, who teamed up with Michele on the field to represent New Zealand when they defeated the USA. Many tour group members explored the North Island by car and train visiting the Hobbit movie set, Waitomo glow worm caves, Waiheke Island and Rotorua thermal hot springs as well as touring the scenic West and East coast of the North Island and the famous wine regions. A coincidence was our coaching staff seeing the famous All Black’s Rugby team and on another occasion, the world’s best ever Rugby player Richie McCaw!
“Having our tour in one region with so many World Cup games and sightseeing options available enabled us to move around safely and efficiently. Accommodation quality and locations (stayed next to US team hotel) were excellent, and the weather, aside from a few days of typical winter conditions, was superb and we enjoyed some spectacular views and memorable World Cup games.”
— Dynamic Soccer co-founder Carine Ireland
Dynamic Soccer provides technical trainings, scouting, bespoke individual and team worldwide tours and US and international training experiences, camps, clinics and more.
Contact Gary Ireland info@dynamicsoccer.com (650) 387 4128 for more information.
Join Dynamic Soccer on Soccerbook.com here
Contact Us for More Information
