Tāmaki Makaurau , AOTEAROA – Māori Football Aotearoa has confirmed its Mangōpare: Kōkiri squad ahead of Thursday’s fixture with New Zealand Secondary Schools, a match that will provide an incisive test for the group’s football identity and competitive maturity.
The selection signals a tightening focus. Players named embody the blend of ability, intent and temperament demanded at this level and arrive off the back of a targeted identification process that rewarded consistency over moments, and influence over volume. The squad has two training sessions prior to Thursday with attention given to structural, tactical and cultural clarity.
The upcoming matches provide a platform to move from ideas into execution. MFA has been clear for some time that its pathway does not exist simply to participate, but to build a performance environment where Māori footballers can thrive on their own terms. The fixture serves as both expression and test of that ambition.
Preparations across the week will prioritise tactical cohesion, positional responsibility and decision-making under load, with the coaching group emphasising sharpness. The impacts of whānau, whakapapa and community also travel with players selected in ways that shape confidence, resilience and competitive edge.
On the field of play, New Zealand Secondary Schools will offer a useful benchmark. The two organisations have played regularly in the past few years with mutual respect and a sporting wairua evident each time which has created a positive competitive aura about the fixture.
For those selected, Thursday is an opportunity to shift the dial again. For those watching, it is another sign that Māori Football Aotearoa continues to move with intent, advancing steadily, shaping its own space in the game, and producing football that carries cultural depth, meaning, texture and intensity.
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Story MFA Media
Image courtesy MFA Media
Match Details
Thursday 22 January 2026
New Zealand Secondary Schools v Mangōpare: Kōkiri
Westlake Boys High School, Tāmaki Makaurau
Kickoff: 11.00am NZST
Thursday 22 January 2026
New Zealand Secondary Schools v Mangōpare: Kōkiri
Westlake Boys High School, Tāmaki Makaurau
Kickoff: 2.00pm NZST
