Fiji fans head here in force

GO FIJI GO: Fiji supporters Mahesh Prasad (left), Roslyn Lata, Lorraine Hang and Sila Challender getting psyched up for the match.PHOTO/JOHN STONE

SPECIAL buses carting football fans to the Northland Events' Centre in Whangarei should see the venue pull a decent crowd at tomorrow's Fifa Under-20 World Cup clash between Fiji and Uzbekistan.

Fijian supporters in Northland and Auckland, buoyed by their team's upset win over Honduras in Christchurch on Thursday, are planning to turn up en masse at the ground and hope the weather holds out. New Zealand-Fiji Football and coach company Tranzit Group have organised special supporters' buses from Auckland to Whangarei and the response so far has been "extremely high".

"The phones are going crazy since Fiji's win and I'd estimate a couple of hundred Fijian supporters from Auckland are definitely going to the game," NZ-Fiji Football vice president Jiten Lal said.

He said a 37-seater bus has been booked to take supporters to Whangarei tomorrow but reckoned a lot of fans who have bought tickets through NZ-Fiji Football would make their own way up north.

Mr Lal said people have booked tickets online.

Tickets for the bus ride and game cost $70 per person.

Tranzit Group is offering return rides, excluding match tickets, for $15 and spokeswoman Jenna Snelgrove said interest from fans had been "extremely high".

She said bookings for the trip closed later today.

Whangarei-based Fijian fan Sila Challender has urged her fellow countrymen to come out in numbers to watch a global spectacle.

Fiji will likely qualify for the next round if they win against Uzbekistan. "Fans are coming up from Auckland and I'd urge all Fijian supporters in Northland to come out and support our team," she said.

Another Fijian fan, Mahesh Prasad, is looking forward to his country of birth advancing further. "It's going to be a close game and my prediction is two goals to one in favour of Fiji." He has relatives coming up from Hamilton for the game and said excitement was building.

Tomorrow's match is the last of three group matches the Northland Events' Centre will host during the Fifa Under-20 World Cup. The first game was between the United States and Myanmar on Saturday May 30 and the second between Ukraine and Myanmar last Tuesday.

Those wishing to hop on to a bus for the trip to Whangarei can book at tranzittours.co.nz/fifabus.

Fifa officials were last night unable to confirm how many tickets had been sold for the match.