SOCCER TOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 34, 9 August 1933, Page 5

SOCCER TOUR

FINANCIAL LOSS

NEW ZEALAND TEAM BLAMED

More qbout the recent tour of Australia by the New Zealand Association football team was heard at the meeting of the council of the New Zetland Foot, ball Association yesterday, when a letter on-the subject was received from th« Australian Soccer Football Association. The letter said that the New Zealand team was far below/the standard of thr last New Zealand team, that had visited' Australia and the attendance? wera affected by it. Although all the accounts were not yet complete, it was'anticipated that the loss would be between £550 and £ 800, which would drain the resources^of the association. It was hard to determine what the future policy of the association would be regarding tours both to and from New Zealand. Next year the New Zealand Association desired an Australian team to visit New Zealand, but it would be difficult to raise the amount of £200 for equipment, assembly and dispersal expenses, as the New South Wales and Queensland Associations had been hard hit by the failure of the New Zealand tour. New South Wales were the biggest losers, having to find at least £500. . , "The weather was against us on two occasions," said the-Australian Association's letter, "but the ultimate failure o£ the tour can only be put down to the poor playing ability of the New Zealand team. Every method was tried to pull up- t,h« leeway, and your manager, Mr. Godber, assisted as much as possible, but after the first three games we anticipated w« would be heavy losers." The Australian Association recalled that early in the year negotiations had taken plaoe between the two associations regarding an agreement that losses on one tour should'be a charge against future tours. It asked the New Zealand Association's views on this subject and on th« request for percentages of the gate tak* ings and guarantees from future tours to recuperate the Australian losses. "I think they get out lightly if they can assemble and equip a team for £200 when it costs us in the vicinity of £350, said Mr. J. A. Milburn. ■" . . Referring to a query by the Australian Association of the team's laundry account, the manager, Mr. H. L. Godber, said that the amount was not excessive, and that it had not been complained of when th« team was over there. The question was a rather trivial one. He had saved the Australians £50 in travelling expenses and had given them an extra match from which they had netted £45. He did not think that the suggestion that the loss on the tour was due entirely to the playing standard of the team should be passed without comment, and he offered to prepare a special report on the matter. _ I think we can put a different complexion on it," he said. The matter was referred to the nnanc« committee.

A Hungarian trade paper has published a remarkable story of a new use for wine. In a provincial town of Northern Hungary, houses were being built in a rineyard on rocky soil. Water is scarce and precious in that, district, and is carted in. barrels to the hills, mere was not enough water for mixing, the mortar. The vine-grower for whom the house was built, and whose cellars were full of unsold and unsaleable wmes, mastered the situation by putting a few casks of wine at the mason's disposal in substitution for water. Thus, for the first time a Hungarian house has been built i with wine.