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NZ and Honduras will go head-to-head in an Under 20s soccer clash in Warkworth on Thursday, May 21. Paul Gothard (left), who is the assistant coach for NZ’s Under 20 side, and Jorge Ponce, an Honduras national who plays for Warkworth, hope Warkworth will roll out the welcome mat for the Honduras representative side, which will be in town for 12 days.
Warkworth will be part of a global sporting event when it plays host to the Honduras Under-20 squad this month.
The Warkworth Football Club has pulled off a minor coup in winning a bid to host Honduras for 12 days, in the lead-up to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
Club official Kyle Deans says Taupo was in the running to host the squad, but a reminder that Warkworth was several degrees warmer clinched the deal.
“This is a massive opportunity for Warkworth,” Kyle says. “Some of the Honduras team members will be the superstars of the game in future.”
The 30-man squad will stay at the Bridgehouse and Warkworth Inn, and will train at Shoesmith Domain and Warkworth Showgrounds.
A match against the Under-20 All Whites at Shoesmith Domain on Thursday May 21, starting at 2.45pm (not 3.30pm as stated in the latest Mahurangi Matters), is expected to attract thousands.
The details of a second exhibition match, which will be played on Sunday May 24, were still being finalised when Mahurangi Matters went to press. Details will be posted on localmatters.co.nz as soon as they are available.
Kyle says the games will be “full-on football” as Honduras counts down to the tournament start.
“Warkworth got to host the team largely because of the support of local businesses like Ray White Bogue, the Bridgehouse, Metro Scaffolding, Warkworth Fitness Centre and Hireworks, and the Mahurangi Rugby Club. We didn’t have a lot of time to put our offer together but that’s when a small community spirit really comes to the fore.”
There will be no charge to attend the Honduras games, but the proceeds of a sausage sizzle and raffles will go towards the travel costs and expenses.
The Government has contributed $5.5 million to the under 20 tournament, which is the second largest men’s competition in FIFA’s global calendar.
A total of 52 matches will be played across Whangarei, Christchurch, Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Dunedin.
The event has an estimated television audience of 170 million and is widely regarded as a breeding ground for future talent with 582 Under-20 players going on to participate in the FIFA World Cup – 30 of them in World Cup winning teams.
The tournament starts on May 30. The final and the third and fourth place play-offs take place at North Harbour Stadium on June 20.
