MAY VISIT DOMINION

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 219, 12 June 1933, Page 6

MAY VISIT DOMINION

Australian Soccer Team

BOYS’ TOUR ABANDONED There is a probability that an Australian representative Soccer team will visit New Zealand in August, about a month after the return of the New Zealand team at present touring Australia. A letter making this suggestion was received at the end of the week by ;Ir. F. Campbell, chairman of the council of the New Zealand Football Association, from the Australian Football Association. While the chairman was unable to commit the council in any way, he was inclined to regard the proposal favourably, as a quick return visit would undoubtedly be popular in New Zealand, especially as the Australian clubs have shown such an imrovement.

Mr. Campbell said the council could not afford to lose money on such a visit, but in the circumstances he thought it offered a good opportunity of recouping the expenses incurred in the assembling and outfitting of the New Zealand team —about £3OO. The finance committee is already working out an estimate of the cost, based on the expenses and allowances to the New Zealand team, and the letter will probably come before a special meeting of the council to-morrow evening. The letter states that Mr. H. L. Godber, manager of the New Zealand team in Australia, had put forward the suggestion that an Australian team should visit New Zealand in August this year instead of in 1934. If the New Zealand Council desired that to take effect, the Australian association desired to be informed as early as possible, as the New Caledonian association wanted to send a team to Noumea in August also. The Australian association would rather give New Zealand preference. It was desired to have the co-opera-tion of New Zealand in regard to overseas tours, said the letter, and it was intended to get into touch with South Africa, Italy, Spain, and Austria. In regard to Wales the same difficulty was being experienced as with England and Scotland. (When an English team played against Austria on the Continent last season, the Austrian team played so well that the association was invited to send an Austrian team to visit England in the 1933-34 season, and,this has been accepted.) Referring to the proposed tour of Australia by a team of New Zealand primary schoolboys, the Australian association said it was prepared to receive such a team free in . Sydney in August for a short tour of four weeks in New South Wales only, any profit from the tour to be devoted to meeting the expenses of further such tours.

Mr. Campbell said this tour was definitely off for this season, as none of the affiliated associations were in a position to contribute to the cost. In the meantime the question of arranging the visit another year would be gone into by the primary schools’ associations in both Islands with a view to raising funds in any way possible. The council was not in a position to pay the expenses after all it was already committed to this season.