Making sports history

BY JOSEPH ROMANOS - THE WELLINGTONIAN

The World Cup football qualifying match on Saturday between New Zealand and Bahrain will be the most important sports event ever held in Wellington, says sports broadcaster and historian Keith Quinn.

"Given that football is such a global sport and that this is a sudden-death match with the winner going to next year's World Cup finals, I cannot think of a sports event played here that has been as significant," said Mr Quinn.

"There's a sellout crowd of about 36,000, which will be a record for football in New Zealand, so the sports fans understand how important the game is."

Wellington has hosted much bigger crowds. Before Athletic Park was demolished, test matches there drew some crowds of 50,000-plus.

"For the test against the Lions in 1959, there may have been 60,000 there," said Mr Quinn, who was a ballboy that day.

"The capacity was 58,000, but some spectators who could not get admission tore down the wire fence on the Adelaide Rd side and another couple of thousand people streamed in."

Reflecting on Wellington's sports past, Mr Quinn mentioned the annual international sevens rugby tournament, rugby test matches against the Lions and the Springboks, Commonwealth boxing bouts and athletics meetings in the 1920s.

"Because we are a rugby country, the major test matches engender a lot of passion but, in terms of importance to the sports world, the game on Saturday will be huge. In fact, I would put it on the same level as the recent America's Cup finals, and the Davis Cup finals that were played in New Zealand in the early years of the 20th century."

Wellington city councillor John Morrison, who was part of the Wellington team that pitched to host the match, said the public response had been astounding.

"The public was way ahead of the media on this one," said Mr Morrison.

"We secured the game a couple of weeks before the first leg in Bahrain and almost immediately 17,000 tickets were snapped up. That was even before New Zealand drew 0-0 over there and set up this sudden-death second leg."

The fact that tickets sold out so quickly had saved Wellington City Council upwards of $60,000, said Morrison.

"We had to bid vigorously to host the match. The New Zealand Football Association, which is based in Auckland, seemed keen to give it to Albany.

"We pointed out that the players would feel more comfortable in Wellington because many of them play for the Phoenix here, and we were able to mention the tremendous success of the David Beckham match here, especially when the Beckham game in Auckland cost millions.

"But I think what finally got us the game was our promise to ensure a sellout by marketing the game vigorously.

"We had a full One Shot for Glory campaign ready to wheel out, but didn't need it because the game was already sold out. In fact, we could have sold it out twice if we'd had the capacity."

The New Zealand players will become much wealthier if they can beat Bahrain.

New Zealand football will make at least $10 million if the All Whites qualify for next year's finals in South Africa, and the All Whites, through their players association, have negotiated to get a considerable slice of that.

This is in stark contrast to what happened the only other time New Zealand qualified for the finals, in 1982.

The coach of that team, John Adshead, said that just before the finals, the national association tried to renege on its financial agreement with the players.

"The players were mainly amateurs back then, but they'd given that campaign 18 months of their lives," said Adshead.

"They needed some financial recompense. I had to threaten to quit just before the finals before the New Zealand association would honour its agreement."

In 1982 New Zealand made $1.2 million for reaching the finals, and the association took the bulk of that, with a lesser amount split between coaches and players.

Because so many football fans cannot get tickets to Saturday's game, the council has organised for a 40 square metre screen to show the game at Queens Wharf.

Meanwhile, Inglewood Place, off Taranaki St, will be closed on Saturday from 4pm until 2am.

A stage, live entertainment and the Four Kings Bar will be within the closed area. Entry to the area will be by ticket only.

The New Zealand v Bahrain match will begin at 8pm. New Zealand must win to advance.

A draw would get Bahrain through.