If I were to ask the majority of New Zealanders what the most important sporting event that will be hosted on these shores in the next couple of years will be, I’m fairly confident that most would reply: the 2011 Rugby World Cup. However, I’m also fairly confident that all those who gave that reply would be wrong.
No, in fact the most important sporting event that will take place on these shores in the next few years will actually occur in November, on the 14th to be precise, and it will take place at the Westpac Stadium. I’m talking, of course, about the All Whites’ World Cup Qualifying match, which will be played over two legs against Bahrain, with the decisive second match taking place right here in Wellington.
This means then on 14 November New Zealand may finally qualify for what is arguably the biggest sporting occasion on the calendar, though it probably sneaks in second behind the Olympics. The FIFA World Cup is a big deal, 32 nations will descend upon South Africa with the dream of claiming the ultimate prize from the most popular sport in the world.
Naturally though, some will argue that here in New Zealand, football isn’t a big deal. Some will even call it by the wrong name. They will tell me that I’m a buffoon for suggesting that a measly qualifying match could be more important that the Rugby World Cup. But when you really think about it, this is a match that has an enormous amount riding on it.
Rugby is New Zealand’s number one sport, I’m not contesting that. The All Blacks are a national treasure (when they’re winning at least) and nothing and no All Whites are going to change that. But football is popular here; in fact more Kiwis play football at some level than any other sport. And yet New Zealand have only ever qualified for the World Cup once, way back in 1982, when ‘Retro Ricki’ was just, well, ‘Ricki’.
Of course, there’s a reason for that. Up until recently, the prospects for a career in football in New Zealand were exceedingly limited. If you were good at football as a kid, so what? No one was going to pay you to play; you had to get a real job like everyone else—unless you were also good at rugby. But that’s now starting to change. We now have a professional side, our very own Wellington Phoenix, and football in this part of the world is booming.
After Australia qualified for the last FIFA World Cup, the game experienced a huge surge in popularity. They realised that they could tap into the global football market, their A-League grew from strength to strength and is now attracting some very high-profile players, and now they’ve qualified again. While it isn’t competing with their powerhouse sports like Aussie Rules and cricket, people are beginning to realise that football can be more than just a social sport.
If the All Whites can win their qualifier against Bahrain, a similar thing will happen here. Football fever will spread through the nation and we’ll start to believe that football is something that we can be good at. There’ll be greater incentive to invest in developing young talent, and with the continued expansion of the A-League, aspiring footballers will have a realisable dream of playing professionally.
Such a thing would completely change the sporting landscape of New Zealand, and that’s why this qualifier could be more important than the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Of course rugby will always be number one in this country, but if the football bug takes hold then New Zealand will truly be able to feel a part of the massive global football community. No game in the world is so widely loved, and no game brings nations and people together quite like football.
So forget the Rugby World Cup, that’ll come around soon enough. But for now, let’s focus on November 14th at Westpac Stadium. Tickets are on sale now, so get your mates together and get down there, give the lads your support and let’s hope we can get New Zealand on the footballing map.