Fullback Ria Percival and striker Amber Hearn have signed for Bundesliga sides FFC Frankfurt and FF USV Jena respectively after enjoying impressive Cup campaigns and helping New Zealand to its first ever point at the tournament, a dramatic 2-2 draw with Mexico in their final group match.
Percival, 21, is delighted to have joined the professional ranks and says playing at the top level has been a long-term goal.
“It was always my dream to play in one of the strongest league in the world and I’m looking forward to doing that at a club like Frankfurt, which has outstanding facilities,” she says. “I will do my part to make sure we push hard for the title.”
The club is based in the Rödelheim district of Frankfurt and plays its home games at the Stadion am Brentanobad, a ground it shares with the men’s team of Rot-Weiss Frankfurt. The Sven Kahlert-coached side is among the front-runners for the Bundesliga crown and has the highest average attendance in the league.
“We noticed Ria because of her great wing play at the World Cup,” Kahlert says. “With her joining, we now have top-notch players in all the defensive positions.”
Ferns team mate Hearn is unlikely to be in the running for the title at USV Jena but her goalscoring abilities will be a boost for the team in its attempt to break out of the middle of the table.
The 26-year-old has plenty of overseas experience under her belt already after stints in England with Arsenal and Doncaster Belles prior to a one-year spell in Canada at W-League side Ottawa Fury. Hearn has made nearly 50 appearances for the Football Ferns has hit 23 goals for her country.
Percival and Hearn combined to lethal effect on one occasion at the World Cup, Percival swinging over an inch-perfect cross for Hearn to head home in New Zealand’s 2-1 loss to eventual champions Japan.
And the pair have more in common than that moment. The careers of the Ferns’ stars have mirrored each other from an early age – both hail from west Auckland and began their senior careers at the same club side, Lynn-Avon United, and have gone on to make a similar number of appearances for New Zealand.
The duo also joined each other in Canada at the Fury and have continued their trend of playing in the same country by now signing with their respective German sides.