Papamoa FC Partnership

Tēnā koutou katoa, please take some time to read this important joint announcement about an exciting new opportunity for Tauranga City AFC (TCAFC) and Papamoa FC (PFC) players, coaches and staff. 

Over the last 2 years, New Zealand Football (NZF) has visited clubs across the country to provide feedback on youth development trends and assess football development programmes. One recommendation was for more cross-club collaboration. Last year clubs were also advised of important changes planned for NZF accredited Skills Centre (SKC) and Talent Development Programmes (TDP).

Considerable resources are required to operate a SKC and TDP. TCAFC and PFC currently hold the only SKC accreditations in the Bay of Plenty (BOP) and TCAFC holds the only TDP accreditation in the region. NZF’s impending changes will make these accreditations harder to achieve and maintain.

TCAFC & PFC recognise the importance of having these programmes available for members, in particular the TDP which is designed to aid player development and produce better footballers in Aotearoa by:

• Increasing the quality of training opportunities.
• Providing clear guidelines based on international best practice.
• Creating an aspirational pathway for youth footballers.
• Delivering access to higher-level football opportunities, such as automatic entry into Nationwide leading competitions, such as the Northern Regional Football (NRF) & the new National Youth Leagues; and more.

BOP clubs have been discussing collaboration for a few years now, with a view to sharing resources and increasing options available to members. With the support of WaiBOP, NRF, NZF and SportBOP, a working group was formed to look at various options in more detail this year. With the retention of club identities and histories identified as important, it was decided early that a new shared entity would be preferable to a merger.

While TCAFC & PFC have founded this new entity, other clubs will have an opportunity to join so their members can also access all the options that only FCTM will be offering in the Bay of Plenty. 

Introducing FC Tauranga Moana

FC Tauranga Moana (FCTM) will be that entity.

FCTM’s primary focus will be to operate all SKC & TDP development programmes for TCAFC and PFC including:

• A SKC programme for U9 - U12 footballers, from which WaiBOP Federation Junior (U12 Regional) teams will operate; and
• A TDP programme for U13 - U17 footballers, from which teams that compete in WaiBOP Federation Y-League and Northern Regional Federation League Youth competitions will operate.

Players in these programmes will have access to the full development pathway. The Fun Football Centre (FFC) programmes will still be available at TCAFC and PFC, overseen by the FCTM coaching team.

The working group chose the name FC Tauranga Moana to reflect the rich history of our region and speak clearly to the joint identity of The Clubs. Work is ongoing to engage with local Iwi to develop branding and design material that will tell our story and highlight connections across Tauranga Moana.

What will change?

FC Tauranga Moana will take over the management of football development for TCAFC & PFC from 1st January 2023. For U9 - U17 players, the name of the club managing the programme will change, but expect to see familiar faces delivering sessions.

With FC Tauranga Moana focusing on football development programmes for Junior & Youth players and coaches, TCAFC and PFC can continue focusing on delivering quality football experiences for other Junior, Youth and Senior members. The collaboration will also provide other opportunities for the sharing of resources to support members.

What next?

We encourage you to attend Q&A sessions held by TCAFC & PFC, details will be communicated soon.  We have also collated a Q&A to help fill in any gaps, which can be found here. If you have any feedback or questions, please email kiaora@fctm.co.nz and this will be shared with the working group.