We'll start getting rid of the crowdies this weekend as real fans are allowed back into the stadiums, initially 2000 and then 25% capacity upto a maximum of 10,000.
Wow! got to be a record, surely. I knew I'd be impressed, but this is several levels above that expectation!
Soccer (Football really) is the largest participation sport here, but not as popular on the TV, so hosting the world cup will be a big boost for the game. It also helps us get over the 2010 bid for the mens world cup when our offer received 1 vote.
its 30 years since I lived in Sydney and had to order a special tv aerial to get to watch the 1990 World Cup as it wasn’t shown on std tv. Even back then the sport was popular at grass roots level - which seemed to be driven by European ex pats/immigrants ... I remember having games with Italians and Greeks for example. You couldn’t get away from rugby league on the tv, but in the parks it was ‘soccer’
Liverpool tonight went one better than last year with the same squad, fair play to them. Over to you now Marcelo, make us proud.
New Zealand, football is popular with up to 12 year old or so, then they are allowed to play contact rugby instead of touch and it's all gone.