Ben Waine


Ben Waine is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.

Club career

Wellington Phoenix

On 7 August 2018, Waine made his debut for the senior side in their FFA Cup loss to Bentleigh Greens.
After his debut for the Phoenix in the FFA, Waine played most of his games for the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the ISPS Handa Premiership scoring a team high of 8 goals, before getting called up to the senior team again in March 2019
On 30 March 2019, Waine made his professional debut for the Wellington Phoenix coming on as a substitute in their 4–1 win over the Newcastle Jets.
On 28 April 2019, Waine made his first start for the Phoenix in a 5-0 loss to the Perth Glory.
On 21 June 2019, Waine signed a two-year contract with the Phoenix. The first year being a scholarship deal, with the second year moving him onto a full-time contract. Just before the 2019-20 season kicked off, the first year of this contract was upgraded to full-time.
On 3 November 2019, Waine scored his first professional goal, coming off the bench in Wellington's 3-2 loss to Melbourne City, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the club's history.

International career

New Zealand U-20s

On 16 April 2019, Waine was selected as one of the 21 players for the New Zealand U-20 who played at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. He scored a brace in their opening match against Honduras on May 24. He made two further appearances in the tournament, starting in both New Zealand's 2-0 victory over Norway and the 1-1 loss on penalties to Colombia in the Round of 16.

New Zealand U-23s

In September, Waine was a member of the New Zealand U-23 team, known as the "Oly-Whites", who took part in the 2019 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He was second top goal scorer for the tournament with 8 goals including one in the final, helping New Zealand to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Career Statistics

Club

As of match played 17 November 2019

International

As of match played 5 October 2019

Personal life

Waine attended school at Hutt International Boys' School in Upper Hutt where he was the junior school captain.