Football: Auckland FC chase FIFA riches, despite travel warnings

Auckland FC are chasing FIFA riches at the Intercontinental Cup in Jeddah, despite government warnings.

After winning the inaugural OFC Pro-League in June, Auckland FC booked their place in the opening match of the annual knockout tournament featuring the champion club sides from all six FIFA confederations.

Their first match is against the Asian confederation winners, Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, on 27 August.

To play this game Auckland FC will go to a region that the New Zealand Government has advised to avoid non-essential travel to.

Auckland FC chief executive officer Nick Becker said the trip was "essential for the club, definitely".

"For us to be able to play on this global stage is a huge privilege and something that everybody has worked really hard for, so in that sense of things it is incredibly important for the club.

"We're confident that it's fine [to travel], we'd obviously never put our players and staff in unnecessary danger and we've been given assurances that we'll be absolutely fine when we get there."

New recruit, centre-back Aaron Calver, was unfazed about travelling to the Middle East.

"Fingers crossed nothing does [happen], but I'm sure there's contingencies in place, and we had a chat with someone from the embassy the other day, so we're all across it."

As the lowest-ranked qualified team, Auckland always knew they would be playing their first match away.

Dates for the tournament fit around the club calendar, hence this match taking place before Auckland and Al-Ahli are too far into their seasons. Future dates are still to be confirmed.

FIFA foots the bill for travel and hotels for all teams.

Even if Auckland lose against Al-Ahli, they will return home with close to $2 million. If they make it to the next round and are knocked out it comes with more than $2.5m in prize money. Win it all, and more than $8.5m will go into the club's bank account.

Becker said this was an opportunity they would not turn down.

"It's exactly where we want to be… if we can compete at our first time there and grind out a result or look good on the pitch, that's a huge achievement for the club, and if we can over time progress further through and play more games in tournaments like this it is great for the players - it puts them on a real global platform - and it is also fantastic for the club in a financial sense as well."

New coach versus new coach

The match will be new Auckland FC coach Pedro Moreira's first competitive game in charge.

Moreira has taken teams to Saudi Arabia in his previous role as coach of Uzbekistan club Pakhtakor for the Asia Champions League Elite in 2025 and is familiar with how teams from the region play.

Like Auckland, Al-Ahli appointed a new coach this month, with Marino Pusic taking the reins.

Moreira believed both teams would have limited intel on the other due to the timing of the match.

He was trying to "put my little touch on the details" off a base of what former A-League coach Steve Corica had implemented last season and the work assistant coach Luke Casserly had done with the players before Moreira's arrival.

"It's not a fantastic [timing] for us because we are really starting to be a team, to create new ideas inside of the group," Moreira said.

"During this moment we are preparing the squad for one season, not for one game.

"We must show something, but I think it's around 10 training sessions, it's not too much all together.

"Even if it goes well or goes wrong, it's the first moment for us to understand what we intend for the season."

From what Moreira did know of Al-Ahli he said they were an experienced team who were rarely beaten at home.

"They only lost two players in the first 11 [from last season], they already increased the quality of the team with more players.

"It's a team that usually scores in all of the games. I think it's around 96 percent of the games they score goals, so it's very difficult also to be ready. We must fulfil our ambition in defensive moments for that kind of situation.

"They will have more ball than us, probably, we must be ready for that and understand what will happen."

Limited preparation would not be the only hurdle for the visiting team.

"We cannot forget that it's a different condition for us. The weather is different, the humidity is different also. The environment and the atmosphere is completely different."

Most of the Auckland side will have played knockout football at some stage of their career, whether it was in New Zealand's domestic Chatham Cup or the Australia Cup or the English FA Cup, or other overseas competitions that are win and carry on, and lose and go home.

Isa Prins was part of the OFC Pro-League team that got Auckland to the Intercontinental Cup. He last played knockout tournament football with club side Wellington Olympic, winning the Chatham Cup in 2025.

"A lot of people may overthink the situation, but it's just another game for us. I think the boys are definitely ready.

Prins, 21, was one of younger players in the Auckland side, having made the step up to the A-League team for the upcoming season. Moreira will be keeping a close eye on how the less experienced players handle the high-stakes game in Jeddah.

Moreira believed what Auckland FC put on the park next week would not be the full picture of what fans could expect during the A-League, which kicks off in October, rather it will be a glimpse of what his team is capable of within his style of play.

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