Flag football isn’t exactly a household name in New Zealand but, since it was added to the Olympic schedule for Los Angeles 2028, it has already won some attention.
But, before that, the New Zealand Mako team must make their mark in the Asia/Oceania Continental Cup in Malaysia next week, to qualify for the World Cup.
The team’s quarterback, Jackson Te Huki, is an experienced player with 16 years of experience in both contact and flag football. He says he is excited not only to be representing Māori on a World Stage but also his iwi.
“For me, it’s an opportunity I take very seriously, I think there was a time when Māori were encouraged to prioritise fitting in rather than standing out and dream chasing, so for me it gives me the opportunity to represent Ngāti Kahungunu on an international stage,” Te Huki says.
This sport hasn’t quite reached all corners of the country but Te Huki says its benefits are endless, and the rewards to capture are reaching new limits
“Now we’re looking at going overseas, and there’s potential to go to the Olympics in 2028. Obviously the benefits of exercising in the community, and also to learn great ball skills, make highlight plays and not have to worry about all the injuries that come with getting smoked all the time,” he says.
The New Zealand Mako team have been missing from the world stage for the past seven years, with their last performance in Miami in the 2016 World Cup landing them in seventh of all teams across the world. But the players are excited about the challenges that lay ahead.
Looking forward to seeing rivals
“Through the men’s game and the women’s game it’s just going to keep growing and we’re definitely at a stage where we can compete with the rest of the world,” Te Huki says.
Along with Jackson, captain Adam Blake also hails from Ngāti Kahungunu, living in Hawkes Bay. He has six years of experience in the code, but also has many years within rugby union, which he says are skills that can be transferred over.
Blake is excited to see how they will perform next week.
“It’ll be interesting to see what the other countries are like. We haven’t been overseas since 2016. I wasn’t a part of that team but when you haven’t been overseas in over seven years you don’t know what the other international teams are like,” Blake says.
The Asia/Oceania Continental Cup is a qualifier tournament they are competing in, with the hopes of reaching the World Cup in Finland next year but their competition are also fighting for the same goal.
“We’ve already had the Americas, who have had their qualifiers and also Europe. So we’re the last of the three regions to go. It’s the top two who gain automatic qualification, so we’re going to have countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Japan and a few others fire for those top two spots,” Blake says.
On Monday Mako will be flying to Malaysia to fight for the Asia/Oceania Continental Cup.