Barbara Cox (left) and her daughter Michele Cox, along with Barbara’s husband Roy, a coach and administrator, were key figures in the remarkable success of New Zealand women’s football in the 1970s and 1980s. They are shown here in 1987, the year they played together in a never-repeated victory over the USA at the World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan. New Zealand finished second in this forerunner of the women’s World Cup, and was consistently one of the best teams in the world in this era.

Barbara Cox captained the first New Zealand team to victory in the Asian Cup in 1975, and retired with 34 caps in 1987, aged 40. Later a successful coach and a leading administrator, in 2010 she completed a University of Waikato doctorate on Issues of power in women’s football in New Zealand.

Michele Cox played 20 times for New Zealand between 1987 and 1998, scoring nine goals. She earned a doctorate from Auckland University of Technology with a thesis on children’s physical activity. Her sister Tara Pryor (née Cox) won four New Zealand caps.