The return of the (Wellington) Phoenix: 433 days later
AP
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand’s only professional soccer team, the Wellington Phoenix, played at home Saturday for the first time in 433 days after being separated from their fans by the coronavirus pandemic and the width of the Tasman Sea.
They celebrated the moment in front of a club-record crowd of more than 24,000 with a 3-0 win over Melbourne-based Western United. The homecoming at Wellington’s Sky Stadium attracted the biggest crowd of the A-League season.
The Phoenix play in Australian football’s A-League and when the pandemic closed the border between Australia and New Zealand in March of last year, the Phoenix based themselves in Australia to play out the 2019-2020 season.
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Wellington Phoenix celebrate record crowd at first game back in NZ
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