Every football club in New Zealand relies on volunteer time and energy to run.

In many clubs, you’ll find a few volunteers who seem to make everything happen. They take on multiple roles, they pick up the jobs no one else puts their hand up for. They are often juggling paid work and family and their own sport commitments. 

Two of the volunteers who have had a big impact in the female game at Plains Rangers in recent years are Dani Howard and Ranee Whiting.

Plains Rangers is in Edgecumbe in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, and was formed in 1977. They’ve had a women’s team at the club since 2011.

Ranee has been with the club for over a decade, and has held nearly every role — coach, manager, player, captain. Right now, she’s heavily pregnant and still registering players, ordering gear, and ensuring the team is set for the season. She’s hoping to get back on the pitch later on in the year. 

Dani’s been involved with the team for the last 6 years. She’s played every year, coached for several years, and puts up her hand to help wherever is needed. 

WaiBOP spoke to Dani and Ranee about what’s made the most impact in the girls and women’s space at Plains Rangers. 

A range of women

Edgecumbe has a population of around 2,000, and it’s constantly been a challenge to get enough women together to form a team. 

“We work with whoever comes along, whether they’ve played before or not. Friends bring friends because we’re a social team.” Says Dani

They make an effort to be social outside of games and training, which has encouraged more women to get involved, and had an impact on the pitch. 

Image: Ranee Whiting - Supplied

Social bonding to create community

The team have a Friday night social night, as well as family days and barbecues. Dani says that the off the pitch activities have been really important.

She says that it creates a sense of community and connection, and it makes a difference on the field. 

“We’re a social team, and we definitely try to embrace the social aspect. Before, we found that our team would be very separated into groups and we wouldn't play well on the field together. Now we are connected more off the pitch, we’re playing more as a team”

Many of the women have children, and Dani says they often bring children to training, and will take turns babysitting, to make sure that no-one misses out.

Ranee adds “I've learned having a private chat group with the woman's team is brilliant and just allowing them to post anything on the page is good, I've found it has kept open communication in the team and many great laughs.”

Women’s strip

Until two years ago, the women’s team played in strip passed down from the men’s team. This often meant oversized and ill-fitting, and definitely not designed for women’s bodies. 

Kit is one of the big costs for clubs, and with limited money coming in there was reluctance to fund both a women’s and men’s strip.

Dani and Ranee heard the funding concern and decided to address it. They wrote and applied for funding grants, and were successful with a grant from Mercury Energy. 

“I designed five different strip options, got pricing, and put it to the committee,” Dani says. “Eventually, we got our own uniform”

Funding options

Dani and Ranee are currently working on getting the club to formally incorporate under the Incorporated Societies Act, which will allow them to apply for funding from more sources. 

Social Media

Ranee and Dani have advocated for more visibility for the women’s team on social media. 

One of the women from the team has taken responsibility to take photos and create content focussed on the women, which they hope will mean the women’s team will have as much visibility as the men’s team. 

Article added: Saturday 29 March 2025