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The results of those reforms have been impressive: Te reo is now an official language, and in the most recent census, taken in 2018, nearly 800,000 people, about 1 in 6 New Zealanders, identify as Māori — seven times the Māori population when Europeans first arrived at the end of the 18th century — with much of that growth coming through intermarriage.

Now business leaders snap up Māori-speaking graduates because they have found including te reo phases in company documents helps brand them as being committed to New Zealand while signage in government offices, hospitals and open public spaces is in both English and Māori.

Schools were established to teach the Māori language, and TV stations, websites and newspapers began carrying content in te reo.

So for Sperath, the most important moment of this summer’s Women’s World Cup, which kicks off early Thursday morning Pacific time, will come just before the first game when the Tino Rangatiratanga, the red and black Māori flag, is raised above Auckland’s Eden Park Stadium and “God Save New Zealand,” the country’s national anthem, is sung in te reo, the Māori language.

The plan’s goals were to have at least a million New Zealanders speaking basic te reo; 85% of New Zealanders valuing the language as part of the country’s national identity; and 150,000 Maori under the age of 15 speaking the language as often as English by 2040.