It was the most euphoric day of their lives. Shivy Anthony and Thomas Picken, surrounded by loved ones, began 2024 by marrying in a celestial ceremony by Lake Tarawera. The zenith of their respective professional lives, they anticipated, would fall synchronously that August.
Shivy’s indeed ended in ecstasy. The fixo performed palatially as New Zealand pummelled Fiji, became OFC champions and reached the maiden FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™.
Thomas’ ended in heartbreak two days later. The winger had volleyed home a gem as New Zealand thumped Tahiti to reach their first FIFA Futsal World Cup™ but, despite being a fixture in Marvin Eakins’ squad thereafter, agonisingly missed out on the cut for Uzbekistan 2024, instead being named as one of three reserves.
Shivy is all-but sure to see the Anthony-Pickens name represented in a World Cup in Asia – a continent that means so much to them. Thomas is half Japanese, while Shivy is half Sri Lankan. She’s holidayed in China PR, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Maldives, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. They love Asian culture, food and people. So much so that, in March, they moved to Tokyo, where she plays for Pescadola Machida and he for Firefox Hachioji.
Shivy took time out from her hectic schedule – she works a full-time job as an assistant language teacher, before going to training on an evening – to speak to FIFA about her appreciation for Ronaldinho, Amandinha, Marlon and Hannah Kraakman, life in Japan and the Futsal Ferns’ hopes for Philippines 2025.
How did you get into football and futsal?
Shivy Anthony: I started playing as a kid in the back garden with my siblings. From there, I joined a football club nearby and initially played football. There wasn’t any futsal at that time in New Zealand. I played that for about 10 years. It was actually Danielle Bradley’s father, and Dani, who invited me to my first social futsal game. Back then there was a girls’ team playing in a men’s league. I just loved futsal so much – more than football – and so I became purely a futsal player. I think that was like 2012 or 2013. The debut national-team squad was in 2017, so it all happened pretty quickly.
Who were your heroes growing up?
I loved Ronaldinho. The things he could do were unreal. I always wanted to wear the same football boots as him. I watched YouTube videos of him growing up.
How did you feel when you heard FIFA had announced the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup?
At first, honestly, we couldn’t really believe that it had been announced or was official. It had been talked about for so many years, we’d dreamed about it for so long. It just felt too good to be true. You didn’t really know what to think – was it actually real? When we realised it was, we were over the moon. It still feels unreal that it’s been announced.
New Zealand still had to qualify. How did it feel to win the OFC title so emphatically and become the first nation to book a place at the World Cup?
We were full of unknowns going into that tournament. We didn’t really have much insight into the other teams because it was the first OFC tournament for women. Winning it like we did and qualifying for the World Cup was unreal. It definitely took a bit of time to sink in that we’d actually booked a ticket to the World Cup. We finished the tour, we went our separate ways, and then we were like, ‘Wow, we’re actually going to the World Cup!’ It was pretty surreal.
Can you tell us about your decision to move to Japan?
Tom and I moving overseas was something that we’d been wanting to do for some time. The announcement of the World Cup also initiated the move. We both wanted to dedicate these next two years purely to futsal. With Tom being half Japanese, Japan was one of our options. We thought we’d give it a go, especially with how strong futsal is here. The number of leagues they have here is unbelievable. We knew it would be a good challenge and the next step that we both needed to help take our futsal to the next level. Futsal here runs from June to December, full-time. Pre-season starts in March, April, so we’re basically playing futsal for a whole year. That’s something that we don’t have at the moment in New Zealand. We were looking for something like that to help us prepare as much as we could.
Do you feel you’ve improved as a player since the move?
I think I’ve definitely improved, but it took quite a bit of time to adjust initially. To the language, to the style of play. Futsal in New Zealand is so different. In Japan, they like to be on the ball a lot more, so their one-v-one ability is pretty good. In New Zealand, I’m one of the first generation of female futsal players, so I have more experience than others. Here I’m surrounded by players with a lot more experience. They push me to become a better player. The fitness levels are different here. I’ve also been exposed to coaches with different styles of play. It’s all been eye-opening and awesome.
What do you most like about living in Japan, and most miss about living in New Zealand?
Aside from the futsal, I love the food and the people. Japan’s notorious for good food, and it’s cheap. You can get it anywhere and everywhere, and anyone who knows me knows that my favourite food is shabu-shabu. I also love the Cremia ice-cream. Everyone that comes to visit has eaten very well. Then you have the people, who are just so friendly. Trainings are quite late here, so I have to travel a bit far on evenings, but you still feel safe. One thing I miss about New Zealand is the weather. So far we’ve experienced both extremes of Japan – it’s been very hot and very cold. I feel like New Zealand is just smack bang in the middle. So the weather and peanut butter. You don’t get peanut butter here in Japan.
Who do you regard as the best fixos in the world?
I followed Sergio Lozano from Spain closely. He’s a great player but he’s had quite a few issues with injuries. He got injured early on in the World Cup, so I didn’t get to see him play much. I really enjoyed watching Marlon from Brazil. It was so cool to watch him and learn from him. He’s a great player, very complete. He’s very strong defensively, has great vision, an awesome shot. He’s someone I would like to be like. I’ll be watching clips of him closely going into the World Cup.
What do you think of Hannah as a player?
I don’t even know where to start. She’s great on and off the court and she’s an inspiration to so many players, so many people. She brings a lot of intensity to the Futsal Ferns. She pushes everyone around her to be better and takes us to the next level. It was pretty emotional seeing her come back after injury and represent us in the Philippines last year. She came back stronger than ever. I’m proud of the player that she’s become and she’s becoming. She’s someone who’s definitely pushed me to become a better player. She has the highest standards and everyone around her is pushed to follow. I love having the opportunity to play alongside her, and I never take it for granted.
Tom came so close to making the squad for New Zealand’s first FIFA Futsal World Cup. How hard was it to see him just miss out?
It was pretty tough. Not everyone sees the sacrifice and hard work that athletes and staff put in behind the scenes, so to see him put in the work and just miss out was pretty heartbreaking. But I’m very proud of how he supported the team while they were at the World Cup, and how he is bouncing back from just missing out. It certainly made him more determined to push for the next cycle, the next World Cup.
New Zealand were amateurs playing against fully-professional teams, but they put in superb performances against Libya and Spain, scored two lovely goals. What did you think of the Futsal Whites’ performances in Uzbekistan?
It was crazy. It was always going to be tough. I guess the level of the World Cup was a new experience for all the staff and players. There were definitely some challenging moments, but I think they did incredibly. It was awesome to see the Futsal Whites playing on the world stage, getting that experience. It was so cool for the whole nation. It was pretty emotional just seeing them walk out for the first game. You’re holding your breath the whole time. We know a lot of the players very closely. We’re so proud of how they did.
Were you watching the games thinking, ‘This is going to be me next year’? If so, how exciting was that?
I guess nobody’s spot in the team is guaranteed, but watching the men’s World Cup certainly made me excited and has given me even more motivation to keep working hard for next year. There’s still a lot of work to be done between now and then, but it’s definitely an exciting time. To even think that you’re pushing for selection for a World Cup is a huge privilege in itself.
What’s New Zealand’s target at Philippines 2025?
To win. Definitely to win. We’ll have to take it one game at a time. To get a win would be great. We want to put in some solid performances, show we’re capable of playing futsal on this stage, show how far we have come as a nation. We’ll try and get out of the group stage.
Who is your tip to lift the trophy?
Brazil, Portugal and Spain will probably be the favourites to win it, and I think those three would also be my favourites.
As a fan of Ronaldinho, we’re guessing you like Amandinha too?
We actually played against her at the World Uni Games in 2016. She was unbelievable and it was an unreal experience for all of us. I’d love to come up against Brazil again just to see how far we’ve come. It’s great to experience the intensity and high level you get playing against a team and a player of that calibre. Amandinha is the big face of world futsal, so to play against her in the World Cup would be something I’d like to tick off my bucket list.
Finally, what did you think of the Philippines?
We were lucky enough to travel there for a tour last year. It was before the World Cup location was announced, so it was awesome for the team to be able to travel there and get an idea what the country is like. It was pretty interesting. We got to see two sides to the Philippines. We were based in Manila. It was pretty busy, lots going on. A couple of us got to do some travel afterwards and got to see some of the islands, which were just beautiful. They have crystal-clear waters and things you see in the movies. It was pretty awesome. The people are friendly, super helpful and very caring. I’m very grateful that we got to see the Philippines and get a glimpse of the country before the World Cup.
