NZ: Hosts of U20s World Cup 2015

Report today in Otago Daily Times (as featured on Fever homepage) about Dunedin's bid for u-20 matches. Seems the new Forsyth-Barr Stadium is in financial strife and there is debate now over whether Dunedin should host matches - but the Council is still pursuing its bid, even still in for hosting the Final. Dunedin Council have voted to pay FIFA the $150,000 dollars per financial year over the next three years, the minimum required to host group games, plus are prepared to pay more to host later rounds and the final.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/209427/u20-world-cup-bid-pursued

Apparently FIFA's team are visiting in June or July to inspect possible NZ venues and a decision on host cities will be made by NZF in August. There are six groups of four teams in pool play- so presumably six cities will be needed. Hamilton are not bidding- see above.

Also see this report from last December on Dunedin's bid which is informative:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/football/6097111/Dunedin-in-bid-for-Fifa-Under-20-final

Dunedin are going the whole hog and bidding for a "Category One" package of group games.

Info from NZ Herald report of last year mentioned in above thread:

A report commissioned by the New Zealand Football Federation showed hosting Fifa's second-largest tournament would offer $2.92 million worth of benefits to a region.

The host centre would also have to provide four training grounds within a 45-minute drive.

CHRISTCHURCH HOSTING U-20 WORLD CUP ?

The Christchurch City Council put a bid in to host matches last November:

http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/newsmedia/mediareleases/2011/201111304.aspx

Mayor Bob Parker says Christchurch is up to the task:

“Christchurch still has the capacity and desire to host an event of this scale,” said Mr Parker. “We’ll be well set up by 2015, especially with our new stadium in action.

“With the international visitors and media that the FIFA U-20 Football World Cup attracts, we have another great opportunity to showcase the best of our city to the world.”

Caroline Blanchfield, Business Development Manager with Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism, is expecting a huge boost in visitor numbers. “This is great news for Christchurch's visitor industry and will be aspirational in helping us plan for the future.”

Not sure about how many games my city, Christchurch is bidding for and whether we'd meet FIFA criteria for facilities because of the earthquake situation, but the new Christchurch Stadium in Addington would be an excellent venue.  You may have seen it on TV hosting Crusaders rugby matches. Spectators are close to the pitch and it creates an intense atmosphere. From the stadium website:

Capacity 18,000 seats (approx.) with two partially covered stands

Scalable to 25,000-seat capacity for international rugby fixtures

13 corporate hospitality boxes

Much of the infrastructure is being recycled from venues around New Zealand

Equipped to international sport standards

See stadium here:

http://www.vbase.co.nz/venues/ami-stadium

Info here:

http://www.vbase.co.nz/about-ami-stadium

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/soccer-football/news/article.cfm?c_id=86&objectid=10807490

That is awesome, I will certainly make every game in Hamilton!

Good to see our fifth largest city in the mix - should have a good chance of hosting matches. If they are raising $809,000 they must be bidding for a "Category One' package of min. three group games, knock-out round, quarter-final, semi-final and final.

This latest report suggests eleven cities are now bidding to host games:.

Whilst this Nov. 2011 report lists these twelve cities as bidding to host matches: Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton, Invercargill, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua and Whangarei. From: http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/news/city-vying-to-be-u-20-fifa-host/1...

"NZF's Under-20 World Cup interim project manager Peter O'Hara said NZF approached 13 cities, all of which hosted RWC games and/or teams.

Mr O'Hara, who was impressed when he was in Whangarei for the Tonga-Japan RWC game on September 21 said the cities approached already met the standards for RWC games."

I'm more confident of my city, Christchurch being capable of hosting matches now that the new Christchurch City Stadium in Addington (formerly Rugby League Park) is up and running. It would be a great venue for U-20 matches with a regular capacity of 18,000 extendable to 25,000 if needed and the stands right close-up to the pitch.

Only problem might be that the U-20 World Cup is scheduled for winter when the stadium would be heavily booked for rugby and there are no other stadiums of sufficient size in Chch now that QE II Stadium has gone.

Errhhm, fourth biggest city.

News from NZ Football on progress on u-20 World Cup 2015: what do people reckon about the logo?

NZ Football to decide on host cities in next few months and submit to FIFA who will come here to inspect in January, with final ratification of host cities by FIFA in mid-February.

http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/index.php?id=11&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1871&tx_ttnews[backPid]=10&cHash=4fc311adf6

October 13, 2012

WELLINGTON - The FIFA U-20 World Cup will be the biggest event to be hosted in New Zealand and will bring the world’s best young professional footballers to the country in less than three years time.

"FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 will bring a festival of international football to New Zealand at a skill level never seen here before.  Some of the teams will be all-professional with many players experienced in the world's top club competitions and as senior national representatives," said NZF Chairman Frank van Hattum.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) has a balanced look with three NZF directors and four independent directors to assist robust governance.

"We have chosen a governance board that have the commensurate skills to ensure the event is well-managed, engages New Zealanders and succeeds on all fronts in showcasing football and New Zealand to the world," said van Hattum.

van Hattum said the directors had proven commercial, financial, business, legal and event leadership skills and this would ensure the management team was guided by experienced governors who had in-depth relevant knowledge.

Appointed from the NZF Board of Directors is Mike Anderson, who is an Auckland lawyer and current Chairman of the Northern Football Federation, and Shelley McMeeken, the former CEO of Netball NZ who has extensive commercial and event management experience.

Senior Treasury official Bill Moran of Wellington will act as chair of the LOC and has been deputy chair of the NZF Board of Directors for four years.

The independent directors are leading sports events administrator Arthur Klap of Wellington and Scott Paterson who has Australasian business management and governance experience and is Chief Executive Officer of Queenstown Airport.

Mark Stewart and Andrew Titter round out the independent appointments, both are former NZF directors who took on leadership roles in the past to help direct the game out of challenging times.  Stewart is a Christchurch businessman and sports governor, while Titter is Chief Financial Officer with a major Australasian infrastructure company, domiciled in Auckland and working out of Australia.

The LOC held its first meeting in Wellington on Saturday (13 October) and discussed a number of items, including the recruitment process for the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer which has already commenced.

NZF is finalising consideration of bids from prospective Host Cities and will make recommendations to FIFA on the venues for pool games, round of 16 matches, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final plus playoff for third and fourth.

Early next year FIFA officials will inspect venues which have been proposed for the 52 matches.  Ratification of the hosting decisions is expected when the FIFA Organising Committee meets in Zurich in mid-February 2013.

FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 has provisionally set its opening game for Friday June 19 with the final to be held on Saturday July 11. 

Frank van Hattum thanked the bidding Host Cities for their support of the event. He said the Central Government was also a major supporter of FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015, which is FIFA’s second-biggest tournament after the FIFA World Cup™.

"The U-20 World Cup attracts hundreds of millions of television viewers and provides an outstanding promotional opportunity for New Zealand.  Sport New Zealand has been particularly supportive of the hosting bid made by NZF and of our early planning," he said.

logo is alright..get the left hand one but not the right..yet.

I like the logo. Football is growing at an amazing rate in New Zealand over the last few years, and I think this tournament will only serve to make it even more popular. Hopefully it generates a lot of tourism too.

 All games should be in Wellington

Logo is amateur. Why?

1. Colours don't represent NZ in any way at all; not white/black or even brand NZ blue/green

2. Lack of integration of fonts - the NZ hand-drawn abomination; a san serif for the words New Zealand and a serif for 2015;

3. the football represenation is miniscule - and is made worse by housing it in a square blue box; surely the 'world' game, the roundball game lends itself to a circular housing device

"studs-up ref"

For what it's worth, Canada used 6 venues when we hosted this tournament in 2007, and we set a record (which may have since been surpassed, not sure) with 1,195,299 spectators. 2 of the stadiums had temporary bleachers put in to increase capacity, and one stadium was built specifically for the tournament - Toronto's BMO Field, which is home to Toronto FC and is used by our national football and rugby teams. Certainly New Zealand could pull this off with minimal construction since there are plenty of decent stadiums here already. I would think that Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and one or two others could host this, with the semi-finals and finals in the bigger venues like in the RWC.

By the way, I took in a New Zealand game in 2007 - the 2-1 loss to Mexico. It was a good game, and much better to watch than the second half of the double header, whose only highlight was future traitor Asmir Begovic (formerly Canadian, now Bosnian at Stoke City) getting red carded for handling outside the area, and being replaced in goal with an outfield player.

Born in Bosnia, moved to Canada as a child, played for canadian youth sides, including two U-20 world cups before switching to Bosnia at the senior level.

The thing that really irritates me and other canadian supporters was that he stated in interviews in 2009 that he wanted to play for Canada at the senior level, then only a few months later accepted the call for Bosnia.

I'm sure we'd be dark too if say Marco chose to play for Chile or Winston chose to play for Denmark (which he almost did remember).

Begovic spent 6 (six) years of his life in Canada. If someone like Tommy Smith could have represented us or England, who'd he have chosen? Exactly. And would anyone here be majorly pissed of with it? Exactly.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/8109358/Dave-Beeche-named-Under-20-World-Cup-CEO 

http://www.radiosport.co.nz/news/spsoc/1309059813-christchurch-to-impress-fifa-delegates

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/wellington/news/spsoc/576939401-new-turf-won-t-sway-fifa-members

few jobs going. Wonder if ErnieClucks or Lee Norfolk will apply for any

http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/index.php?id=11&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2218&tx_ttnews[backPid]=10&cHash=bd607bfc52

Ahmad (aka 'avoidthespoon') should get one!

 Ahmad for marketing director. 

The U/17 world cup in 1999 was great fun. Hopefully this will be better! The visiting crowds at North Harbour stadium where it was mostly based, were brilliant and loud and friendly and a welcome change from rugby crowds at the time. Have been a Ghana supporter ever since...... 3rd fav at least anyway.

Im liking this idea

A Junior All Whites side could be included in the ASB Premiership from next season 

Would be a really positive move and would help the team to gel together.

Hopefully come tournament time there would also be a few players from overseas coming back that would further bolster a squad well known to one another.

Hopefully NZF stump up the cash.... will the wait to see if we qualify for the WC first so they know we have some extra money coming in?

Yeah but give them another name apart from NZU20's. If based in North Harbour Stadium then North Harbour something

So the Phoenix academy just goes to North Harbour now?

Yeah thats a good idea, basing them in wellington instead of north harbour

Sounds good in theory.But are they saying they can choose players 2 years out !, how many of the last 17 are now in the current U20. Quite a few missing I believe. So players all progress at different rates.

What about the players whose parents can't afford to put them in boarding school in Auckland or Uni... They may be some of the better players in New Zealand. 

At least with the Phoenix I am told they get some financial help and help finding somewhere to live etc, is New Zealand Football going do that for the players they want in Auckland.......

Do the Phoenix Youth get an exemption from living in Auckland ? Since the set up is already there and half the players will probably come from there,surely it would make sense to have it based in Wellington. Same poblem for players who aren't in Phoenix and can't afford it tho.

Maybe entering them into the ASB, having X amounts of camps during the years and having an open door for players to come and go as coaches see the need and players change. 

Use the money to fly the players from there current base to games.

I presume NZF have therefore decided the coach for 2015 is an Auckland based one ??? Doesn't give the impression of an open door to that decision!

If a player goes to a school in Auckland because he's made the NZU17s, who pays to send him there?

My point! what about the ones who couldn't afford to go to school in Auckland and may be better players than what they have. Heard if you weren't prepared to make the move to Auckland, you were not considered.Other than one who was exempt by virtue of his surname.

It will become a sport of those who can afford, will make the top teams. Not a sport of the best players make the top teams

Fulltime, it sucks but its part of life. Those who can afford it will always have more and greater opportunities, whether to travel the world and see different countries and culture, or attend different training camps in an effort to progress ones sporting ambitions.

Whilst it would be great to include players regardless of where they are from and given everyone equal opportunity we need to remember we are talking about a football programme, not a social welfare programme.

NZF has to act financially responsibly not socially - if that means basing it in Auckland, then so be it.

 I agree with metal - it sux but what would work better?

Read what I said full time - present system sux. Your suggestion of endless camps requires lots of money from NZF to fly players in endlessly. Is that a realistic answer? Do you think it will happen? I empathise with your point but I don't have a realistic solution. More importantly, does NZF?

New Zealand Football only paid for the flights to the last camp once the team had been named.Before that each player paid for their own flights.(preferable and cheaper than moving to Auckland) .(If you knew how the current system worked you would know this)

 You haven't come up with any reasons why it Sux,nor answered any of the other points that were raised in the post. 

The article says they have to find the funding for a suggested ASB U20 team.So obviously going to cost more than the current system.Which has managed to get the last 2 U20 teams through to World Cup!!! 

Yes we want to go further and that will come with the better coaching that is coming through now. 

Fulltime.

Everyone agrees with you that the best players are not always getting in because of the financial costs etc, but  your suggestion also poses problems.

Off the top of my head.

- You rely on scouting feedback to measure progress. How is this done, especially given we do not employ as a federation full time and professional scouts, how do you ensure there is no bias here as you suggest is seen elsewhere.

- Different coaching philosophies... coaches coach and influence players and their development with their own philosophy, this could work against building a cohesive unit and lead to pull away factions (Look at Waikato and the Edge saga) or players not being able to fit into a new style of play easily.

- Nothing beats regular training and playing with a team, camps whilst good can never truely match this day in day out training programme.

- Inconsistant performance in one off games can lead to great players been left out or poor ones sneaking in. Scouting youth games is not easy as you need to see players play regularly and against different oppostions, so watching a youth game while valuable, individually provides very little.

By bringing players as many players as possible, who show potential and having them work with and compete against each other will lead to better players - they will feed of each other and the competition because they know they may miss out otherwise to other players in the group and / or the occassional bolter from outside.

Fulltime - I have no idea who you are or how old you are, but by chance are you one of the players from the outside looking in or know someone in that position. Your theory is sound, but the arguements are pretty thin and seem more emotive than logical.

Metalleg

Maybe you should read the original post, you seem misguided, I never stated that anyone in the current 20 has missed out due to financial constraints. We haven't asked them to up roots and move yet…. I was talking about the future 20's mentioned in the article.

You also seem to gloss over all the other things that were mentioned.

ie the Phoenix training group in Wellington, which is rumoured to expand next season. This is where allot of the current 20s are training full time and I believe came from.

The fact that most of the current 20s are actually playing in the ASB. A stepping stone.

In answer to your latest points -  Scouting/Inconsistent  performance in one off games - The scouting was not done on a one off basis. The current coach which you have previously stated you are not fond of... actually had the chance to see many of the players actually playing in the ASB matches as they visited Auckland for numerous matches and also the Napier U20 in the past two years. Many players played in Auckland over the past year for various other games as well. As this was where the current coach was from it was minimal coast for all those chances to see players.

Different coaches - A player has many coaches over the years and all coaches bring good and bad things with them. A good player understands what his current coach wants from him and applies it.(Surely the players that come together in other National Football Teams cope with this)

You also seem to be unaware that there are some good programs running in New Zealand, where the majority of the good young players are coming from Phoenix Youth, Ole, to name a couple and even some of the clubs. I believe Birkenhead and Lower Hutt clubs have been in the Napier U19 final for the past 3 years and some of those players are now in the U20 squad.(Most years there are NZ U17/U20 coaches there watching) New Zealand Football also have Federation Training and Talent Centres. These were set up to scout and train identified players at an early age and to bring them together to train to the ways of playing. As they are run by New Zealand Football, surely they too are keeping tabs on identified players.

I agree there is always room for improvement, but I think the programs and viability of what is there need to be considered.. A lot of it is set up by New Zealand Football to cover all th concerns you have raised. Are they not working???

And in answer to you innuendo. No, I am not a player who is on the outside looking in, or even close to one. I am someone who believes that good players can be found in many places as well as Auckland and we should put the best out to represent New Zealand.

And as you do not live in New Zealand and seem a little out of touch with the current systems, practices that have already been put in place. Maybe you are not the best to judge.

 I think we will have to agree to disagree on this subject.

Your right I am not in New Zealand which does make things harder for me, but I have always followed football very closely and had the good fortune to work with people who are involved in different levels.

If everything is happening in the way that you say it is with all the different tournaments that coaches get to see etc, then the training camps should be viewed as an extension of these. Simply just another opportunity some players have taken on to develop their game and promote their chance. It won't mean selection if the do attend, nor should it mean if you don't you wont have a chance, which means the status quo should remain.

For the record, no I don't like Edge as you alluded to as I feel he has too much control over his players, but I do appreciate and encourage the work he has and Groom for example in promoting skills based football as opposed to our more traditional hoof methods.

Personally I think whatever is happening in New Zealand should be encouraged as I strongly feel now we are beginning to produce better and technically gifted players more consistantly. This has been evident in our recent results in youth world cups and the last Olympics. It is a trend I hope will continue.