World Cup match for Chch

Press, 6 March 1985, Page 64

World Cup match for Chch

By

DAVID LEGGAT

China-Taipei has been pencilled in to play New Zealand at Christchurch in a World Cup qualifying soccer match on October 12. Originally, there had been strong hopes of New Zealand’s match against its arch-rivals, Australia, or, alternatively, the strong Israeli team, being staged in Christchurch. However, circumstances have dictated that Australia meet New Zealand in Auckland on September 21.

Canterbury is due to defend the Ranfurly Shield against Wellington at Lancaster Park on September 21. A clash with the Australian World Cup tie would seriously affect the crowdpulling impact of the soccer match.

The dates for World Cup matches are set by FIFA, international soccer’s governing body. When FIFA sets dates, they stay set. No tinkering with dates is permitted.

So instead, New Zealand will meet Australia, the match with the greatest box-office appeal, in Auckland. The match against Israel has also been allocated to Auckland, on October 26, while China-Taipei,

which is playing both its matches against New Zealand in this country, will play New Zealand, also in Auckland, on October 5. The unfortunate result is that Christchurch is left with potentially the poorest match, if New Zealand beats China-Taipei heavily a week earlier in Auckland, or it should have been effectively eliminated by bad results in previous games. Gwyn Evans, the secre-tary-general of the New Zealand Football Association, said that Gisborne had been discussed as a possible venue, but discarded through problems associated with television and other impracticalities. At least Christchurch will be hosting a match, which is something it appears the Wellington Football Association will not be doing. David Cox, the chairman of the Canterbury Football Association, said the allocation of the matches was logical. He said he was not disappointed that Christchurch had missed out on one of the bigger drawcards, and added that the most important aspect is that the South Island hosts at least one World Cup match.