Callum Holmes has been appointed New Zealand women’s U-20 head coach to lead the team for the next FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup cycle.
Holmes, who formerly was assistant coach of the Wellington Phoenix women’s A-League side for two seasons from 2022-2024, takes the role with immediate effect.
Main photo: Callum Holmes … will lead New Zealand’s U-20 women’s squad.
Holmes takes over the role from Leon Birnie, who led the team at last year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.
Before joining the Nix, Holmes held a number of football and futsal development roles with Capital Football, as well as being an academy coach with English Football League side Sunderland AFC.
Holmes will split the role with his current position as women’s development lead at Wellington Phoenix.
His first task will be selecting a squad for September’s OFC U-19 Women’s Championship, where New Zealand have been drawn in Group B with New Caledonia, hosts Tahiti, and Vanuatu.
Should the team reach the final at the tournament, they will secure a place at the next FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, to be played in Poland in September 2026.
Keir Hansen, general manager of high performance at New Zealand Football, said: “The game continues to grow rapidly, so it is really important that we have an aligned and robust development system to nurture the best talent.
“Callum has held a number of development and coaching roles, including in the women’s professional game, so is perfectly placed to take on this position, and we look forward to him getting started.”
Holmes said: “Having the ability to get around the country and see as many players as possible is a priority as we progress towards the qualifiers in September.”
The OFC U-19 Women’s Championship will be staged in Tahiti from September 21 – October 4, 2025.
This story was first published on May 20, 2025.