World Cup inspires next generation

Wearing their Tikipunga strip, keen football players Fergus Davidson, 7, left, and Nicolas Bernecker, 9, have the Under-20 world cup in their sights.Photo/John Stone

A keen football playing kid summed up the best thing about having a prestigious international sporting trophy travel through Northland on a 60-stop national tour.

Nine-year-old Nicolas Bernecker was one of many sports fans to visit the Fifa Under-20 Football World Cup promotional tour when it stopped at Whangarei's Lauri Hall Park yesterday.

"It makes me want to do really well in the skills centre and win that cup one day," an awestruck Nicolas said as he and fellow Tikipunga AFC player Fergus Davidson, 7, got up close and personal to the trophy.

Nicolas already has tickets to all four games to be played at Toll Stadium in Whangarei during the 2015 Fifa Under-20 Football World Cup.

The trophy was centre stage at the Lauri Hall Park event where youngsters could have their photo taken with it and also test their own ball control in the 'skills centre' under the guidance of some serious round ball exponents.

The cup made dramatic landfall at Waitangi at dawn on Monday. The Northland leg of the tour around New Zealand was kicked off when the trophy, carried by Kiwi soccer great Wynton Rufer, was brought ashore in a waka before the Fifa officials received a formal Maori welcome at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

Toll Stadium will host three group matches with the first kicking off at 4pm on May 30; the second at 1pm on June 2 and the third from 2pm on June 7. Whangarei's round of 16 match will kick off at 4pm on June 11.

The under-20 World Cup is Fifa's second largest tournament after the Football World Cup. It is broadcast in more than 200 countries and watched by an audience of about 500 million.

The event - which will feature 24 teams over 52 games - showcases the world's best young footballing talent and many of those taking part will already have professional contracts with some of the biggest football clubs on the planet.