Football: World Cup quality assured

Senior Fifa delegates Rhiannon Martin and Colin Smith take a ball from All Whites great Ivan Vicelich during the official draw for the Fifa U-20 World Cup at SkyCity. Photo / NZME

Northland fans will be treated to the football skills of five nations in Whangarei at this year's Fifa Under-20 World Cup.

The Northland Events Centre will host three U20 group matches, with the first kicking off at 4pm on May 30 between Myanmar and the United States.

Myanmar will also take on the Ukraine on June 2 and Fiji and Uzbekistan clash on June 7.

Hosts New Zealand have a favourable draw and will face Ukraine, USA and Mynamar in group play, when the tournament starts in May.

The tournament opener will pit New Zealand against Ukraine in Auckland, before 52 matches take place across seven cities over three weeks.

The tournament is expected to reach 170 million television viewers across 100 countries and Fifa are hoping for 500,000 fans to pass through the gates over the course of the tournament. Football development officer for Northland Dave Alabaster said the region was going to see a really different style of play. It would be high quality and the teams would play very different styles of football from each other, Mr Alabaster said.

"I don't think people realise how good they are."

While a team like Myanmar may not be a traditional football powerhouse, they should not be ruled out.

"Myanmar did qualify so they must be a good side," Mr Alabaster said.

It was the first time Myanmar and Fiji had qualified for the competition.

Getting a Fiji game was great because of the large Fijian-Indian community in Whangarei, he said.

"That's going to create some interest," Mr Alabaster said. "It will be hard for them but a great opportunity for them to step up to that next level."

Despite being a little disappointed Whangarei was not going to see the likes of Brazil or Argentina, Alabaster said he could not wait for the tournament to start.

Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai said she was confident the stadium was going to be full for every game, especially after learning the teams. "That's a really interesting group," Ms Mai said. "We've got some great teams."

The Fiji match would be a huge draw for the Northland community, especially as it could be a tight contest against Uzbekistan.

"I think the local Pacifica community will be way behind that," Ms Mai said.

It will give Northlanders a chance to learn about other countries but also for visitors to see the region, she said.

"We'll take every opportunity to show ourselves off in the best light."

Ukraine were one of six teams to qualify through Europe while Mynamar emerged as the surprise package of the Asian qualifiers and the USA were making their 13th appearance in the finals of the U-20 World Cup competition. It's the third time New Zealand has hosted a Fifa World Cup after the men's U-17 event in 1999 and the women's U-17 event in 2008.

Previous tournaments have helped develop some of the best players to have graced the game, including Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.