Whangarei gearing up for FiFA u-20 World Cup

 

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Cole-man is encouraging peo-ple in Whangarei to get involved in the FIFA Un-der-20 World Cup when the tournament kicks off on May 30.

“It’s a great opportu-nity to see the next wave of up-and-coming foot-ball superstars and to be part of a global sporting event,” says Dr Coleman.

Whangarei, which will host four matches, is already seeing the ben-efits of being part of the

World Cup, with new grounds facilities built at Springs Flat for use dur-ing the tournament.

“The addition of four new playing fields is a significant legacy for Whangarei, with two of the new pitches devel-oped to meet internation-al standards.

“The two new sand carpet fields mean they can serve as FIFA train-

ing grounds for the tour-nament and can be used for years to come by the local community.”

The Government has contributed $5.5 mil-lion to the tournament, which is the second larg-est men’s competition in FIFA’s global calendar.

Fifty-two matches will be played across Whangarei, Christch-urch, Auckland, Hamil-ton, New Plymouth, Wel-lington and Dunedin.

The tournament is widely regarded as a breeding ground for future talent with 582 U-20 players going on to participate in the FIFA World Cup – 30 of them in World Cup winning teams.

The event will have an estimated television au-dience of 170 million. „ For further information, schedules and tickets, head to www.fifa.com/nz2015.