Whangarei-born professional footballer and All White Jeremy Christie is right behind the city's bid to a host for one of the biggest sporting events on the planet - the Fifa 2015 Under-20 World Cup.
Whangarei District Council yesterday was among 12 cities around the country presenting bids to NZ Football on why it should be one of the six to eight centres to host U20 games and/or teams.
If Whangarei is successful, the event would pump millions of dollars into the district economy, bring the next generation of football superstars to Northland, and give the region unprecedented global exposure. The U20 World Cup is Fifa's largest tournament after the Football World Cup, broadcast in 200 countries to an audience of 500 million.
Christie, who made his name as captain of the New Zealand under-17 team that took part in the Fifa U17 World Cup in New Zealand in 1999 and played for the All Whites in last year's unbeaten World Cup campaign in South Africa, hopes his hometown is successful in its bid. Christie has played for a number of teams since making his professional debut in 1999, including Barnsley FC in the UK, Football Kingz, New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix and now plays for FC Tampa Bay in the North American Soccer League.
He said the event would give unprecedented exposure to Whangarei and give the region the chance to see the best young players the world has to offer. "For me the under-17 World Cup was my first real exposure to true international football. We'd played a number of warm-up games in Europe and South America in the 18 months leading up to the tournament but the professionalism and intensity that happens during World Cups is like nothing else I've experienced," the central midfielder/defender, said.
"Having a tournament like this in your backyard is naturally going to get the country involved and the chance to see the best young players in the world in person is going to inspire all young players."
Christie said the under-17s helped convince him that he could make a career out of the game.
"Playing in any major tournaments, particularly World Cups, is always going to help your career.
"It looks good on the CV and shows foreign coaches and clubs that you have experience playing on a big stage and under pressure, and it's something that I still get asked a lot about and I still sometimes get referred to as former under-17 captain Jeremy Christie. I'm 100 per cent behind Whangarei's bid and would love to be involved with it anyway I can."
Christie said most of the bidding cities will make sure they meet the criteria and standards needed so the decision could come down to which is going to give the best impression of New Zealand to the world. Also in the running are Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Invercargill, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua and Wellington. NZF will shortlist cities and Fifa officials will visit each one before making a final decision, probably in June.