Māori Touch NZ and Rotorua NZ have entered into a partnership for the hosting rights of the Māori Touch Nationals Tournament which will see the annual event take place in Rotorua through to 2027. 

The biggest event of its kind anywhere in the world, Māori Touch Nationals is a marquee event on the touch calendar every year, growing in numbers every year post pandemic interuption. 

Trustee and Partnerships Director Pat Spellman (Ngāti Maru ki Taranaki) says the new partnership will provide a rareity in touch - the ability to plan years in advance. 

"Working with Rotorua Council, especially Noelani and the Stadium team - made the decision for us to stay in Rotorua a pretty easy one. We will always prioritise working with the willing and Noelani has always been a massive advocate for Touch, in particular Māori Touch - our decision to stay is a reflection of being wanted in the first place!

Being able to tell our members, hey you can plan with some certainty... other codes do that and it heeds amazing results, we are hoping that by telling our people 'we're here till 27' they can plan multi-year campaigns, fundraisiers and generational growth for their Iwi, Hapu, Marae teams etc" 

2025 DATES & DETAILS 

Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th 2025 
Venue: Rotorua International Stadium & Surrounding Fields 

What does the partnership mean? 

• Māori Touch Nationals will take place each year at the Rotorua International Stadium and surrounding fields. The starts with 2025 and runs through to the end of 2027;
• Māori Touch NZ will work with Te Arawa to continue our proud history of providing a mana focused, tikanga centric experience for all those participating and/or spectating;
• Māori Touch NZ will work with Rotorua NZ on promotional activations and activities pre, during and post event, to showcase the best of the region. This could mean special MTNZ participant discounts. 

Māori Touch NZ is excited to be working alongside Rotorua Lakes Council, Rotorua NZ, Te Arawa Iwi and our various event sponsors and stakeholders to make this partnership a great success. We acknowledge the hard work of Noelani Hudson (Rotorua International Stadium) & Joelene Elliott (Director of Events, Rotorua NZ) for their mahi to finalise the partnership agreement. We also acknowledge Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell for her ongoing support of Māori Touch. 

Article added: Wednesday 19 February 2025