UK football legend and FIFA ambassador Ian Wright has fallen in love with Māori culture.
The former England international and legendary Arsenal and Crystal Palace football player is Down Under as an ambassador for FIFA‘s Women’s World Cup, underway in New Zealand and Australia.
Wright, whose beaming smile and infectiously good-humoured personality have seen him become a household name in the UK, visited Te Kura-ā-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano in Ōtaki on Wednesday, describing the experience as “amazing”.
“The most incredible pōwhiri (welcome) at Te Kura a iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano this morning,” Wright wrote on Instagram.
Three of the rangatahi performing the welcome wore London club Arsenal’s home strip once famously worn by Wright.
Wright played football with the students afterwards, joking that his Green bibs team lost 3-1 “but I scored”.
While in Aotearoa, Wright has tried his hand at doing a pūkana at the All Blacks Experience in Tāmaki Makaurau and suggested the Black Ferns haka looks “even more intimidating” than the ABs.
He’s even reluctantly thrown himself off the Sky Tower.
Last week, Wright was in Australia where he took part in a Welcome to Country ceremony performed by members of the indigenous community in Brisbane.
“Really grateful for such a sincere and generous welcome,” he said.
@wrightyofficial A special Welcome to Brisbane / Meeanjin 🇦🇺 @Australia @FIFA #WrightysDiary ♥️♥️♥️ #wwctiktok #fifawwwc ♬ original sound - Ian Wright
Wright, whose parents are Jamaican, is widely admired for his way with people.
“You’re the Nelson Mandela of football,” one fan said about his Ōtaki visit. “You have a special connection with the people of the world.”
Wright was named Player of The Century for his first club Crystal Palace scoring a record 117 goals but is most famous as an Arsenal legend where he netted 185 goals in 288 appearances for the Gunners. He scored nine times for England in 33 matches.