Source: Radio New Zealand
Football Fern Jacqui Hand is now one of the more experienced players in the squad. Photosport
Jacqui Hand is months into the biggest move of her football career and with a possible second Football World Cup on the horizon she is wanting to reach her potential at club level.
Hand is one of the more travelled of the current Football Ferns squad having played overseas since 2018. College football with the Colorado Tigers in the United States was followed by a stints with clubs in Finland, England, Norway and now Switzerland.
In 24 months Hand has been with four different clubs.
The 27-year-old played for Lewes FC and Sheffield United in the Women’s Super League 2, before going to Norway in mid-2025 to Kolbotn. In January she was a mid-season transfer to Swiss team FC Basel.
“The move was a big one for me, I’d maybe not reached my full potential at my previous clubs, and I think finding somewhere that had a really good environment and a club base as well [was what I was looking for],” Hand said.
The Swiss club, which is the biggest in the country, had initially got in touch with the Hand when she was playing in Finland in 2023.
She was one of three international players who joined Basel in the transfer window.
“I chatted to the coach and the sporting director, it just sounded like a really good fit and a team that’s doing well.
“All of that together with the coach and where he saw me in the team was why I chose there.
“Everyone wants to be happy in football and life, so finding somewhere that you can be comfortable in that and just really reach your potential is very important.”
Since early February, Hand, who plays as a left winger, has been getting regular minutes for FC Basel in the Women’s Super League and Schweizer Cup.
She missed the Football Ferns’ three Oceania Qualifiers games for the World Cup in the Solomon Islands in March but has returned for the semi-final win against Fiji on on Saturday and Wednesday’s final against Papua New Guinea in Auckland.
“I think it always helps when I’m doing well in club and to bring that into the [Football Ferns] environment is huge.”
Being one win away from qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Brazil is “super exciting” but it has been a goal a long time on Hand’s radar.
At the last World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 2023, Hand was a relative newcomer to the senior side. She had played eight games for the Football Ferns before getting named in the World Cup squad.
Over the last three years Hand has developed as a player while changing clubs and “seeing how different places operate”.
Hand now has 38 caps for New Zealand.
“It’s funny to think that I’m one of the more of the older and experienced players. Feels like just yesterday I was new coming in.
“But I think that’s what’s great about teams like this is you always start somewhere and then you can learn from those that are more experienced and then you end up with that experience.
“So it’s great to be able to help some of the newest ones come in and be able to teach them from my journey and what I’ve been through.”
Hand who is from Auckland said it would be a “dream” to qualify for the World Cup in her hometown in front of friends and family.
After a dominant 5-0 win over Fiji in the semi-final, Hand said Papua New Guinea in the final would be a different game.
“These games present different challenges, but I think we just continue playing our way and build on what we have and it was positive coming off the last game, so I think we’ve just got to take that energy and look forward to the next game.
“We’ve all got one goal and everyone does their piece, whether on game day starting or coming off the bench or whatever it is. It’s a great environment to be a part of and having that togetherness is amazing.”
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
