Cambridge High School has attracted a record number of football players this year.
Year 11 student Blake Urbahn turned out for his social team, the Senior Boys Ultras, in a grading match against a Hamilton Boys’ High School side on Saturday morning. Photo: Steph Bell-Jenkins.
Football committee member Jo Kelk said 216 players had signed up to play in the school’s blue and white jersey in 2025 – enough for 12 teams.
“We’re thrilled that the popularity of football at the school has been steadily increasing,” she said.
The season kicked off officially over the weekend.
Year 11 student Blake Urbahn turned out for his social team, the Senior Boys Ultras, in a grading match against a Hamilton Boys’ High School side on Saturday morning. The Ultras lost the encounter but enjoyed playing in brilliant autumn sunshine. They are coached by Becky Savage, who captained Cambridge High’s 1st XI girls’ team in 2022.
As well as boasting record player number this season, Cambridge High School football is on a high following the recent inclusion of year 11 student Gethyn Foster in a New Zealand men’s U16 squad, which will compete in a FIFA Youth Series tournament in Switzerland this month.
Kelk said Foster was the third Cambridge High player in two years to have won a New Zealand jersey, alongside Luke Brooke-Smith, who signed a three-year contract with Wellington Phoenix in August 2024, and Natalie Young, who represented Aotearoa last year at the FIFA U17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
