CUP COMETH OVER: Noel Barkley at Kamo High School during a tour to engage Whangarei schools and sporting organisations in next year's Fifa Under-20 World Cup. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
CUP COMETH OVER: Noel Barkley at Kamo High School during a tour to engage Whangarei schools and sporting organisations in next year's Fifa Under-20 World Cup. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
The Fifa Under-20 World Cup trophy has been on show at Whangarei secondary schools in a bid to attract volunteers and block sales to matches played in Whangarei during the 2015 international sporting event.
The trophy had pride of place at the schools' assemblies on Tuesday and Wednesday where FifaNZ sales director and former New Zealand international Noel Barkley sold the idea of schools buying blocks of seating for the four games to played in Whangarei next winter.
Toll Stadium was earlier picked to be one of the first venues sold out for the tournament, with early-bird venue packs being snapped up fast.
Special venue packs - first offered to clubs and now to schools - see a 5 per cent cash-back rebate offered to the schools' football programmes, as part of the local organising committee's pledge to grassroots support and growth across the game.
But volunteers are also needed for the Whangarei fixtures. A local organising spokesman said about 200 people were needed for a raft of volunteer duties in Whangarei, but only half that many had so far been signed up.
Volunteers have to be over 17 years old and pass certain criteria. They will be engaged in different roles such as helping with competitions, liaison and hospitality - and will get kitted out in Adidas clobber that they can keep.
