Congratulations to Sena Vesty on his selection in the U16 football squad for the upcoming FIFA Youth Series tournament, in Zurich, Switzerland, this May.

Sena is one of 14 players based in Aotearoa New Zealand with a further eight playing overseas in Australia, England, and the USA. 

Men’s U-16 head coach Martin Bullock said: “This is an exciting new group so I’m looking forward to assembling as a team together in Zurich and testing ourselves against some quality sides.”

The FIFA Youth Series is designed to provide U-16 players the chance to train, compete, and showcase their skills on the international stage. 

The 2025 edition features six teams, from all six of the FIFA confederations, split into two groups: 

Group A – Guatemala, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Switzerland

Group B – Malaysia, Paraguay, and Tunisia

Each team will play the other two countries in their group before facing off against the side in their equivalent position in the other pool (3rd vs 3rd, 2nd vs 2nd, and a final of 1st vs 1st to confirm the overall winner).

Aotearoa New Zealand will play Switzerland on 19 May, and Guatemala on 20 May, with both games kicking off at 2:30am NZT (18 and 19 May at 4:30pm local time).

The 5th place playoff and 3rd place playoff will be played on 22 May at 2:30am NZT and 9pm NZT respectively, with the Final on 23 May at 2:30am NZT. 

The tournament will be broadcast live and free on FIFA+.