Wellington Phoenix captain and goalkeeper Lily Alfeld will miss the entire Liberty A-League season but she will remain around the club in a new off-field role.
Alfeld has been appointed the Phoenix’s operations executive as she prepares to undergo back surgery.
The 28-year-old, who was the club’s first A-League Women signing but sat out the 2022-23 campaign because of off-season knee surgery and a back injury, will continue her recovery and rehabilitation while assisting academy operations and becoming Wellington’s culture and values lead.
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“I’m very grateful to the club for finding a spot for me and it’s exciting to still be involved with the Phoenix in some capacity,” Alfeld said. “I’m grateful to the chance to still be around the team.
“From a post-playing career point of view I’m also looking forward to getting more experience in sports administration.
“I spent a couple of months training at the academy last year, but it’ll be really interesting to see how it operates.
“I’ve worked in administrative roles before, but nothing in the sports world.
“It’s always been my long-term goal to work in sports administration, so this is a really good foot in the door and gives me experience in that space.”
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Alfeld is still planning on resuming her playing career once she has recovered.
“I’m doing a lot better. I have a lot more mobility now, but unfortunately it hasn’t healed to the point that I’d be able to get back to my football anytime soon so I am still going ahead with the surgery,” she said.
“I’m really excited to get that out of the way and then move on to rehab.”
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Phoenix general manager David Dome added: “Lily has all of the attributes we want to see from Wellington Phoenix players and staff, and was a fitting winner of the Lloyd Morrison Spirit of the Phoenix award last season.
“While knee and back injuries prevented her from playing, she continued to lead the team from the sidelines and her positivity never wavered.
“Lily has an incredible impact on all the people she comes into contact with and the club is better for having her around.
“She will be a tremendous help to the academy during what is an incredibly busy time at Fraser Park, and is the perfect person to develop the club culture and values work we started in August.”
The Phoenix kick-off their Liberty A-League season at home to Melbourne City on October 15.
