Bindon and son Tyler made history as the first mother-son duo to both have played at Fifa World Cups \u2013 Jenny for the Football Ferns in both 2007 and 2011, and Tyler for the All Whites in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it happened and Fifa confirmed it, it was a really cool full-circle moment for us,\u201d Jenny says, who travelled to the US and Canada with husband Grant to support Tyler.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t an intention for us to set a record; it\u2019s not what it was about. It was more about Tyler competing on the world stage and getting the opportunity to represent New Zealand at the pinnacle event in the world when it comes to a sporting event, so it\u2019s pretty awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born and raised in the US, Jenny moved to New Zealand after marrying Grant Bindon, a former captain of the New Zealand volleyball team. They met at Lewis University in Illinois, where they were both NCAA athletes; she played both soccer and basketball there. She had also worked in the US Coast Guard before coming to New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Bindon made her Football Ferns debut in 2004, shortly before having Tyler, who was born in January 2005. She was back playing less than four months later.<\/p>\n
After an international career spanning a decade, two Olympics, and 77 appearances for New Zealand, she chose to retire from the Ferns in 2014, struggling to recover from a concussion and balancing family life.<\/p>\n
Tyler Bindon as a child<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was compounded by injury, age and Tyler being in school. It was harder, and I just needed to support my family more,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s how sport works \u2013 sometimes it decides for you, so mine was kind of chosen for me. It was too hard after my head knock just to get back into the way I used to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bindon jokes that every time she tries to leave the sport, she gets drawn back in. She started coaching while she was still playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the game so much \u2026 I just want to create opportunities for others that were better than what I had, and I think that kind of sums up why I stay involved in football,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Bindon is now an assistant coach for the Football Ferns, having worked with the team for many years after her retirement. She\u2019s also held coaching roles offshore, with UCLA, Reading, Arsenal Academy and the London City Lionesses.<\/p>\n
The Bindons are currently based in the UK, where Tyler has played football for the past four seasons. But a unique experience will draw her back to Aotearoa next month.<\/p>\n
One of the strongest clubs in women\u2019s football, Chelsea FC, are heading to Auckland for a one-off match against an Auckland FC Women\u2019s Invitational XI at Eden Park on August 8.<\/p>\n
While Auckland FC are yet to have a team in the A-League Women \u2013 scheduled for a debut in the 2027\/28 season \u2013 they\u2019re hoping to bring together local talent for the opportunity to experience top-level football at Eden Park.<\/p>\n
Bindon was approached by Auckland FC through her footballing connections and was excited to step up for the one-off game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing this game just to put our best foot forward, and I want to promote New Zealand women playing the game. Hopefully we can compete and get a goal, if not win,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Some football fans queried why the existing Wellington Phoenix women\u2019s side weren\u2019t chosen for the match, particularly after their historic 2025\/26 A-League season where they made the grand final.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not competing with Wellington, it\u2019s bringing women\u2019s football in New Zealand, and lifting it all up together,\u201d Bindon explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about experience, we want to have experienced players with young players coming through, and having those types of opportunities is going to help continue to grow the game, it\u2019s really exciting for everyone who will be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Bindon returned to the Football Ferns after giving birth, she struggled to balance both roles.<\/p>\n
Jenny Bindon in action for the Football Ferns against USA in 2013. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Tyler grew up around the Ferns, with many of the players helping out with babysitting duties or keeping him entertained on the sidelines when he was younger. But now he\u2019s played on one of the world\u2019s biggest sporting stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the Ferns have reached out to say how cool it is to see Tyler out there playing when he grew up watching them play and kicking a ball around with them. I think it\u2019s been kind of a full circle moment for a lot of them,\u201d Bindon says.<\/p>\n
The female role models for Tyler didn\u2019t stop there, with various coaches working with Jenny at UCLA influencing his teenage years.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have the likes of Cori Close, Amanda Cromwell, Kelly Inouye-Perez be involved in Tyler\u2019s life, these are powerful women who are competing and winning at the highest level within their own fields,\u201d Bindon says. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s been a huge factor in who Tyler is today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bindon believes mums in football have more support in New Zealand now, and there is more encouragement for players to return after having babies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is exciting that we\u2019re creating better environments for women to succeed and we need to continue to keep doing that. It\u2019s not where it needs to be, but we\u2019re getting further along in where we are,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always say it\u2019s not a light switch, right; we\u2019re not gonna make it all happen all at once. It\u2019s really important that we get our infrastructure right and we continue to keep developing coaches, players, get the ex-players to be involved and always giving back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of giving back, and I think that\u2019s really admirable in how we [former Ferns] all want to make football continue to grow, not only in New Zealand, but globally.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Bindon watches Tyler play, the ex-player and coach voices in her head quieten, as there\u2019s only one role important to her in those moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to be as much of a mum to Tyler as I can in these situations \u2013 he\u2019s got enough pressure from coaches and other people around him,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere can only be one Tyler Bindon mom, and that happens to be me, so I try to take that role as best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n