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May 16, 2026 12 mins

Auckland FC boss Nick Becker is gearing up for a big week ahead as the club prepares to play in - and host - an A-League grand final next weekend.

Tickets go on sale for next Saturday night's decider tomorrow, with members in the morning and general public in the afternoon.

Becker joined Piney to discuss further.

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalksb.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Auckland FC will not only be the first New Zealand
football club to play in an A League men's Grand Final,
they will be the first to host one.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
There is the final whistle history for Offland FC. They
book a spot in the Azuzu A League Grand Final
and put the heartbreak of season one behind them and
go further than they've ever been before. Handshakes for Steve Coricker.
They've traveled to Adelaide, a professional performance. Three nil on

(00:45):
the night, four to one on aggregate. They become the
first team in the Grand Final.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Indeed, ten past eight Saturday nights at go Media Stadium,
Auckland FC will host Sydney FC, the club where Auckland
FC head coach Steve Coricker won two championships as a
player and two more as a head coach. Auckland FC
CEO Nick Becker is with us. Nick to host. You
needed Sydney f C to win last night, which they

(01:14):
did eventually on penalties against Newcastle. With the messages flying
back and forth during their game as you were trying
to work out whether you'd be hosting or not.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
Yeah, absolutely were, and what a fantastic result for us
as a club. We can't wait to kind of sell out,
go media staty next Saturday night and sort of you know,
play in front of a good procyl Auckland.

Speaker 5 (01:36):
Fan fan base.

Speaker 6 (01:38):
It's fantastic, Pony, absolutely well.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
I mean you're only in your second season, you won
the Premiers, played last season but couldn't take the step
to the Grand final. Now you have and you will
host that Grand Final. Did you dare imagine things would
go so well so quickly for this club?

Speaker 5 (01:57):
No?

Speaker 4 (01:57):
I think if I wold probably would have been locked
up if I've been sort of around town talking about
how this is all going to play out.

Speaker 6 (02:03):
So it has been.

Speaker 4 (02:05):
You know, Lon as thee I think with everything you
need to kind of the conditions needed to be right.
Autan didn't have a team. We came in and provided that.
The growth of the game and the city has been phenomenal.
Everybody aukand just wanted to have something new and they
and they certainly got behind our team and embraced it.

Speaker 6 (02:21):
So you've got that side of things.

Speaker 4 (02:23):
Then we built you know, we've got some great players
and a great coach and Steve Coriker and everyone behind
the scenes who supports them and helps them out. So
we were competitive from day one and we said that
we wanted to win silverware right from the start.

Speaker 6 (02:36):
Managed that in season one, which you.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
Know I saw think was an incredibly special season, and
now we've got the chance to go to that one
step further, which it's what the boys talked about at.

Speaker 5 (02:46):
The Star the start of the season.

Speaker 4 (02:48):
They said, you know, they it hurt them getting to
the semi final last year. I think sometimes you need
to you need to go and lose something to realize
how hard it is to win it, and that hurt.
I think you saw that come out certainly in their
display against Melbourne City when it went all the way
through to penalties and without a doubt on Friday night

(03:09):
in Adelaide, where where a lot of people have written
us off and they were sort of like, you know,
all the pundits were tipping Adelaide to go through. Certainly,
I think there was a feeling of that they kind
of had one foot in the in the Grand Final
pre match around the stadium at Cooper's. So to go
there and put on such a complete performance and win
three zerl was just an amazing.

Speaker 5 (03:31):
Achievement and you know, we're just maybe so proud of
the guys.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
So when you won that game, then you're in the
Grand Final, but you don't know who you're playing, and
therefore you don't know whether you're hosting or not. But
do you get into dialogue with apl who run the
competition immediately after Friday and they stay to you? Okay, Nick,
Well if Sydney when you're hosting, so do you start
the wheels moving on the on the hosting side of
things at that stage?

Speaker 5 (03:57):
Yeah, absolutely, that is exactly how it happens.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
So we actually have a few conversations beforehand and playing
out in the various scenarios.

Speaker 6 (04:04):
So everything's organized.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
You've obviously got to have your stadium book to start with,
but then everything like you know, ticket pricing, members, member
on sale.

Speaker 6 (04:13):
Pieces and the League have been.

Speaker 5 (04:15):
Fantastic to work with on that on that side of.

Speaker 6 (04:17):
Things, and they've come out with I think it's a.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
Pretty decent ticket pricing structure for the final which be
gooes on sale tomorrow. You know, members, our members between
nine am and four pm tomorrow will have the opportunity
to buy tickets and get twenty percent off, and I
think the adult the cheapest adult ticket starts at thirty
nine dollars and juniors at twenty dollars. So for a
Grand Final, for the for everything that goes on around

(04:44):
the game, the entertainment, and then the actual match itself,
I think that's that's reasonable value for money.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Absolutely. So that's your members, so from nine to four
tomorrow and then presumably general ticket sales from four o'clock tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (05:01):
Yeah, exactly that. So, so members get a special code
that they.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Go on that that gives them twenty percent off, and
they can also have the opportunity to snatch this their
favorite seats before anybody else does, and then at four
pm it's it's general sale to everyone. I expect that
South Stand is going to sell out pretty quickly. It's
a matter of ours, and then I'm hoping to see
entirely packed go Media next Saturday night at eight pm.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, I don't think there'll be any problem with that.
Had a miss sorry a question here on text? Was
there ever a view? And I know this was talked
about last year about moving the Grand Final tow Eden Park.
Was that ever discussed?

Speaker 4 (05:41):
It's been, It's been discussed, but I personally, I think,
you know, to your point at the start, Pioneers is
we're going to remember we're only two years old, and
I think, you know, I think in the future we
will be taking our big games to Eden Park. You know,
hopefully we've we're frequently in the finals and frequently taking
Grand finals there.

Speaker 6 (06:01):
But I think at this stage.

Speaker 4 (06:03):
Of where we are and how we want to grow,
a packed go Media for me is probably the best
place to play that final. And then in the years
to come, yeah, sure, go to em Focus. It's definitely
not off the cards, but you just do it at
the right time as my feeling.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
And kickoff time off ten past eight. That's obviously later
than most of your home games will be. In fact,
all of your home games have been presumably that's around
catering to an Australian broadcast audience as well. A bit
of a compromise there.

Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah, we don't have any say really over that side
of things. We're sort of you know, we've taken the
attitude that just tell us the day and the time
and we'll be there and do everything to win the game.
So it is a little bit late to the normal.
I don't think it's too bad. I mean the one
disappointing bit is my six year old and four year
old I'll be able to come because it's way past
their bed time. But it does mean that there's.

Speaker 6 (06:58):
A whole load of other people who might have been.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
Tied up on Saturday with jobs, other football games, whatever,
it might.

Speaker 5 (07:02):
Be, just general life.

Speaker 4 (07:04):
We'll hopefully have that that sex of the night Claire
and be able to come along to the game. It's
also going to mean it's under lights and it has
that kind of like sense of occasion. You know, it's
proper Grand Final at night in sort of you know,
wintery conditions. It's going to be brilliant.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, it's going to be absolutely great. And I presume
there'll also be a few logistical demands and the week ahead.
I mean, nobody here knows how to put on a
Grand Final in New Zealand, so I presume you'll get
alongside apl But how busy will the weak ahead look
or how busy will it be for you and the
members of your team?

Speaker 4 (07:41):
Oh yeah, everyone's going to be everyone's going to be
really full on. But it's sort of this is what
we do it for, you know, because it'll be you
know it'll be a full on week finally, no doubt
about that. But then come the end of next weekend,
and let's not forget we've also got an IFC team
playing in a semi final on Wednesday night, which if
they win that they go through to a grand final

(08:02):
which will be on the Sunday. So it could be
awking with the sad finals all weekend. And then and
then what happens after that and we've celebrated, hopefully, is
everything just stops and we've got nothing to do. So
I'll be telling my team just to kind of it
will be a lot of hard work, but just to

(08:22):
take a moment to enjoy it and and and remember
this is exactly what we do it for.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
American Steve Coricker is secretly quite pleased that it's his
former club he gets to come up against in Auckland
FC's first ever Grand Final.

Speaker 6 (08:38):
Yeah, how good?

Speaker 4 (08:39):
How good is sport at just creating narratives like that,
It's it's brilliant. And I mean, Steve, I'm sure we'll
play it down in the media this, I'm sure we
won't mind me saying, but it'd be something that it
will be very special for him to you know.

Speaker 6 (08:53):
He was he was just a he was a one
club man in the.

Speaker 4 (08:57):
In the A Leagues in terms of playing, assistant coaching
and then coaching with Sydney a Sea. It spent a
long time there, had a lot of success there. I
saw something for up on my socials today saying this
is Steve's fourth Grand Final as a head coach, so
he knows what he's doing. He's clearly shows he's a
talented a talented coach and he's also a super competitor,

(09:19):
so he you know, the guy's a winner and he
just wants to win. And to do that against your
former club would be would be pretty special. I know
I used to work at Melbourne City and when we
beat them they kind of felt a little bit better,
so I'm.

Speaker 5 (09:33):
Sure he'll have simmer feelings too.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
All right, just to finish, you know, the club as
new as we know, only two years old. You've already
won the Premier's Plate. You've got the chance next Saturday
night to win the A League Championship. What would it
mean if it is a Roki Sarky lifting that trophy
next Saturday night.

Speaker 6 (09:53):
It'll be an incredible occasion.

Speaker 4 (09:55):
I definitely don't want to get ahead of ourselves, and
I know they'll give everything for that game. But to
do the premiership in the year one and then the
opportunity to to win a championship in year two is
a huge effort on the pitches. There's no other sort
of way to describe it. And and if Rokias does

(10:16):
does lift it and we and we do win and
you know us end finally because it'll be it'll be
a really fantastic moment.

Speaker 6 (10:24):
But I think for now it's just focused on getting
in there.

Speaker 4 (10:26):
Let's still this, Let's fill the stadium, get all of
Auckland behind the boys, and I'm sure that will help
them carry it over and get the result that we
all want.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
All right, Auckland FC dot co dot mzet is your website,
best place to go to find out all the ticket details.
I reckon your kids can come. They don't have to
go to school.

Speaker 5 (10:45):
On the Sunday, that's true.

Speaker 6 (10:47):
Yeah, I know, I know I'll be old.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
I'll have a chat with my wife today, but they
definitely will be wanting to come by them.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
I'll see you there, Nick, thanks for chatting as always.

Speaker 6 (10:57):
Thanks mate, Cheers.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
Nick Becker, CEO of Auckland f C into a Grand final.
Hosting a Grand Final Saturday night teen past eight and
go Media Stadium in Auckland. We'll have a built up show,
no doubt next Saturday as we as well get alongside
the team and see if they can make another piece
of history by winning the A League Championship. Yeah, Auckland
FC dot co dot mz. What did next day? The

(11:22):
text Throe here? What were the ticket prices? Ticket prices
adults from thirty nine dollars and kids from twenty dollars,
So very reasonable. But yeah, said to be a great occasion.
I wouldn't wait if you have an inkling to go
along to this game. I don't know. I wouldn't be
waiting to buy your tickets. I'd be getting in when

(11:42):
you can. If you remember, you'll obviously be going from
nine tomorrow morning. But if you're a general sports fan
and you want to be part of history, I'd get
on there from four o'clock tomorrow afternoon and get my
tickets of Oh, this will sell out. There's nothing surer
it'll sell out, So you want to be there. Auckland
FC dot co dot mz.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to news Talk zed be weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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