They’re coming home, tell the world Wellington Phoenix are coming home.
The Phoenix will return to New Zealand before the end of the 2021-22 Isuzu UTE A-League season in a huge boost to the club and their fans, having been based in Sydney, Australia since November.
Following the removal of restrictions on outdoor gatherings, it has cleared the way for the Phoenix to finalise matches in New Zealand, where the A-League Men team will host Central Coast Mariners at Sky Stadium in Wellington on April 17.
The Phoenix will then entertain Western Sydney Wanderers at Eden Park in Auckland on April 24, with both games kicking off at 1.05pm AEST (3.05pm NZT).
The Finals-chasing Phoenix haven’t played on home soil since more than 22,000 fans packed into Eden Park to watch the match against Perth Glory in May last year.
“We can’t wait to play in front of our fans again,” Phoenix general manager David Dome said. “We hope it will be the boost the team needs to push them into the finals in May.
“We’re thrilled to come back home to Wellington first and then travel to Auckland to meet some of our extremely important commercial obligations and play in New Zealand’s biggest city.
“We want as many of our supporters as possible to see the Phoenix play, having been starved of football over the past two years.”
Ufuk Talay’s Phoenix are seventh in the ALM, two points behind sixth-placed Melbourne Victory, who occupy the last Finals position.
Wellington go head-to-head with bottom side Perth at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday.
