Waikato well placed for Fifa junior World Cup games

The Waikato’s football grounds require little work to ready them for next year’s Fifa U-20 World Cup.

A Fifa inspection team visit in March found Waikato Stadium largely compliant with only minor issues to address.

Jansen Park in Silverdale will serve as a training ground and a council staff report found it required renovation and maintenance work to bring it up to standard. Fifa was happy with the standard of Gower Park and Porritt Stadium, which were recently upgraded as full sand carpet fields.

Beetham Park, in Waikato Stadium Precinct, will also feature.

‘‘We are very well equipped for the tournament,’’ sales and marketing manager James Bannatyne said.

‘‘Waikato Stadium hosted matches in the 2008 U-17 Women’s World Cup and there were the games in the 2011 Rugby World Cup that were held there, of course. The investment that we need to make at that venue is not a huge one.’’

‘‘Our ambition for the Hamilton venue is to make it the best venue in the country.

‘‘We aim to fill the stadium for each match with noise and colour and movement. It’s an exciting opportunity and we want to create an exciting experience — a celebration of football.’’

They would achieve that by engaging with the Waikato’s football communities in the build-up to the tournament, ‘‘so that ultimately they will be at the stadium for each of those matches’’.

Fifa sales and marketing manager James Bannatyne’s goal is to get the Waikato prepared for the U-20 World Cup.

’’Our ambition for the Hamilton venue is to make it the best venue in the country. We aim to fill the stadium for each match with noise and colour and movement. It’s an exciting opportunity and we want to create an exciting experience – a celebration of football.’’

Countries that already qualified for the tournament include Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Ukraine and Fiji.

The German side was in outstanding form at the UEFA qualifying tournament and will look to augment their nation’s World Cup winning performance in Brazil and their women’s U-20 title in Canada.

The draw will be made on February 10, 2015.

More than 25,000 tickets have already been snapped up by football enthusiasts across the country for the tournament.

Among the ticket packages available are ‘‘venue packs’’ for Waikato football clubs and schools, which are being offered cash-back rebates and early-bird discounts as part of that scheme.

The Hamilton North Football Club is an example of that success story.

Making the most of the offers, almost half of their entire membership bought 97 venue packs, enabling them to show off their club colours en masse in a reserved section of Waikato Stadium and earn nearly $300 for their club.

Some of the larger clubs around the country have earned $600 cash back, with the chance to earn more.

For more details on the tournament, go to fifa.com/NZ2015.