New Head of Women's Football Appointed

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Maia Vink to the position of Head of Women’s Football.

Maia holds a UEFA B Licence and is due to complete her OFC / NZF A Licence assessment. She brings an exciting range of experience to help take our Women's program to the next level.

Maia joins us from the Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand's first ever professional women's team, where she was their performance analyst. She is currently in Fiji as New Zealand U19 Assistant Coach competing at the OFC U19 Women's Championship to qualify for a place in the 2024 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup.

Maia's journey to Springs has seen her work in The Netherlands, Canada and for the last 3.5 years, in Wellington. Her time in Wellington has seen her take on the role as Head Coach for Capital Football. Maia coached Capital Football to two 2nd place finishes in the National Women's League and South Central Series during 2020 and 2021. Alongside the coaching, Maia was responsible for the Women's & Girls and Talent Portfolios at Capital Football where she was instrumental in establishing the partnership with the Wellington Phoenix for the first professional girls academy programme in 2021 as well as delivering the first federation led Women in Leadership Programme. 

Maia was part of the first cohort of Te Hāpaitanga, a High Performance Sport New Zealand programme designed to elevate high performing female coaches which has recently provided her access to top academy and women's environments in the UK and The Netherlands, senior coaching mentors, as well as spending a week with the Football Ferns as they prepare for the FIFA Women's World Cup. The Te Hāpaitanga programme and her work with Christian Penny has helped depended her understanding of and application of Te Ao Māori frames through coaching.

As a player, Maia has won the Kate Sheppard Cup with Coastal Spirit and the National League with Mainland Pride, as well as representing New Zealand at U17 level. 

Maia is excited about the Springs challenge "Western Springs is ambitious across all aspects of the club and wants to provide the best possible environment for female players across the entire pathway, including engaging with professional support. Along with my experiences at professional youth academies, international programming and professional senior football, I'm confident that together we can build a thriving, sustainable club with enduring success. Western Springs is a club with endless potential, and there is a powerful foundation to work from. I can't wait to get underway." 

Western Springs AFC Executive Chair, Grant Ramsay, said "I'm so thrilled to have someone of Maia's calibre joining us. She brings so much experience across all levels of the Women's game and is the perfect person to take our Girls’ and Women’s’ Programme to the next level".  

Maia will join the club in August once her existing commitments to the FIFA Women's World Cup are completed.

Welcome to the Springs family, Maia.

Grant Ramsay

Exec Committee Chair