Frantic negotiations have succeeded in securing tickets for local football supporters anxious to watch New Zealand compete for the first time at this year's Olympics.
Friends and relatives of New Zealand's Olympic football squad members contacted the Herald this week, concerned about a potential ticket shortage that couldhave seen the team virtually without supporters at their first match on August 7.
Just nine seats from a total of 200,000 had been made available.
The squad, known as the Olywhites, will play matches against China and Brazil at a 60,000-seat stadium in Shenyang. Just three tickets were originally to be made available to NZ supporters at each fixture. A further three were to be available for a match against Belgium at an 80,000-seat ground in Shanghai.
The parents of one likely team member, Jacob Spoonley, faced losing thousands in wasted travel arrangements.
Supporters spokeswoman Brenda Henderson, mother of US-based Kiwi footballer Craig Henderson, booked tickets as soon as the team's itinerary was announced in late April.
But on June 8 the organisers, Premier Events, told her that no tickets were available but the organisation would try to obtain some from other countries.
Premier's Asia Pacific managing director, Malcolm Beattie, said staff had negotiated with Olympic counterparts in Europe for tickets to the New Zealand fixtures. All of the eight families chasing them would now be able to attend the New Zealand matches against Brazil on August 10 and Belgium on August 13.
Premier had managed to find six tickets for the match against China and they would be allocated on a "first ordered by date" basis.
He was confident of finding the 17 extra tickets required for that match.
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