Auckland City: Meet the Only FIFA Club World Cup Team Whose Players Aren’t Paid

Auckland City: Meet the Only FIFA Club World Cup Team Whose Players Aren’t Paid

  • It’s elite professionals vs passionate part-timers as Bayern Munich face Auckland City at the Club World Cup
  • Auckland City players do not earn a salary, playing for free as semi-professional players in New Zealand
  • The FIFA Club World Cup has expanded to 32 teams with a $1 billion boost, turning it into football’s newest epic

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In a tournament featuring football royalty like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Manchester City, the inclusion of Auckland City FC, a team of amateurs from New Zealand, offers a striking contrast.

While global superstars such as Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe arrive with entourage and multimillion-dollar contracts, the players from Auckland City land in the United States with unpaid leave slips and packed lunchboxes.

Auckland City, FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich
Auckland City players arrive to inspect the stadium ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group C match vs FC Bayern Munich at TQL Stadium on June 14, 2025. Image credit: Stuart Franklin - FIFA
Source: Getty Images

Auckland City, the ultimate underdogs

Auckland City FC's appearance at the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, now a 32-team competition backed by a $1 billion investment, feels like a football fairy tale

Most players juggle full-time jobs or university studies, and football is little more than a labour of love, according to France 24.

The club’s participation in such a grand event brings into sharp relief the massive gap between elite professionals and those who play the game purely for passion.

Their opening match pits them against Germany’s most decorated club, Bayern Munich, whose squad features England captain and star striker Harry Kane.

It's an almost surreal clash: world-class athletes versus part-time players who train in the evenings after their 9-to-5 shifts.

A team of teachers, sales reps, and hairdressers

Unlike their high-profile opponents, Auckland City’s players have day jobs that include teaching, real estate, and even hairdressing, per the BBC.

The players receive no wages, with only a weekly cap of NZ$150 (around US$90) to help cover football-related expenses such as gym memberships or travel.

Several squad members couldn’t travel to the U.S. due to work obligations, highlighting just how precarious the balance between career and sport can be for amateurs.

Those who did make the trip had to sacrifice annual leave or take time off without pay according to France 24.

Angus Kilkolly: Sales manager by day, striker by night

One of the team’s key players, 29-year-old forward Angus Kilkolly is a manager for a power tools company.

By night, he’s on the training pitch, often until 9:00 pm, honing his skills for games that draw a few hundred fans at Auckland’s boutique Kiwitea Street ground.

Kilkolly, who boasts a scoring rate of roughly a goal every two games in his nearly 140 appearances for the club, is not fazed by the star-studded teams they will face. Instead, he’s thrilled.

“To be on the same field as some of these guys — it’s a dream scenario,” he recently shared.

Sticking to their style vs Bayern Munich

Despite the gulf in resources, the team doesn’t plan to park the bus or abandon their principles. Auckland City has long embraced a possession-based style, preferring to build from the back and play attractive football.

Auckland City FC, FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich vs Auckland City
Auckland City players at the Club World Cup in USA. Image credit: Stuart Franklin - FIFA/FIFA
Source: Getty Images

Their defensive discipline has earned them success domestically, with the club regularly dominating the Oceania region and winning 13 OFC Champions League titles.

In fact, they’ve become familiar faces at the Club World Cup, appearing frequently since 2006 and finishing as high as third in 2014.

Al Ahly sets unwanted Club World Cup record

YEN.com.gh earlier reported on the undesirable record Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly set at the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in the US.

The most successful African football club held Lionel Messi's Inter Miami to a pulsating goalless draw at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Gariba Raubil avatar

Gariba Raubil (Sports Editor) Gariba Raubil is a skilled content writer and journalist with over 14 years of experience in sports journalism. He is a CAF and FIFA-accredited reporter and has been a member of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) since 2020. He has covered several international tournaments including two All Africa Games in 2015 and 2023. He also reported on the 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and the 2018 Women’s AFCON. Email: gariba.raubil@yen.com.gh