Spain captain Ivana Andres apologises to New Zealand's Maori people for mocking traditional haka ahead of Women's World Cup

A video of four players from Spain's squad attempting the ceremonial haka was posted on social media.

The upload to Instagram was swiftly deleted, after viewers accused the squad of mocking the traditional war dance, which has been performed before New Zealand's rugby matches since 1888.

Per NBC Sports, Andres, Spain's skipper, read a letter of apology to elders and members of the Rangitane O Manawatu iwi (tribe) at a ceremony on Monday.

She also handed over a Spain shirt and the Real Madrid centre-back said: “We’ve only been in Aotearoa (New Zealand) for a few days and we have so much to learn about your culture.

“Therefore, thank you so much for the kindness to dedicate a few minutes of your wisdom, especially in such (an) important moment as Matariki."

Matariki is the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14.

“We’d also like to see Matariki as a way to renovate our excitement and for us to learn to enjoy, to share and to reach for new goals and to ask for forgiveness for our mistakes and to learn more each day.

“We know how important mana (status) is for Maori people and therefore we’d like to celebrate that by giving you a jersey of our team.

"This shirt represents everything we have to fight for, our sacrifices, our victories, and we hope that you see the privilege we have of playing this tournament in your land.”

An iwi spokesperson, Meihana Durie, said: “Their words came from the heart and there was an acknowledgement that they understood the haka is very precious, not only to Maori but to all of Aotearoa. In terms of what happened today at the powhiri (meeting), today was a very good outcome.”

Spain play Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan in their World Cup group.