Under-20 World Cup attracted 300,000 fans

Predrag Rajkovic of Serbia holds up the trophy following the FIFA U-20 World Cup Final match between Brazil and Serbia. Photo / Getty

The Fifa under-20 World Cup has been a huge success and will leave behind a lasting legacy for New Zealand football – that’s according to David Beeche, CEO of the competition’s local organising committee.

Serbia shocked Brazil in the final with Nemanja Maksimovic’s dramatic late winner in extra time giving them a 2-1 win, in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 25,000 at North Harbour Stadium.

22 days of football was been watched by more than 300,000 fans with Mali and Senegal, the tournament’s two surprise packages, capturing everyone’s imagination by upsetting the odds to make the semi-finals.

New Zealand’s U20s made the knockout stages for the first time in any Fifa tournament before they were valiantly defeated 2-1 by Portugal in the last 16.

“Kiwi sports fans have been part of an incredible celebration of world football,” said Beeche. “We’ve seen our own Junior All Whites make history going further than ever before in a Fifa tournament, we witnessed over 150 stunning goals, inspiring talent and amazing matches throughout every stage of the tournament.”

International communities in New Zealand came out to support their teams and Beeche praised their efforts and dedication, especially given some of the atrocious weather that fans had to cope with during the tournament.

“One of our aims was to create noise, colour and movement inside the stadiums, thereby bringing that unique football atmosphere that global football is renowned for.

“We have seen this across the tournament from so many of our local communities including Serbians, Malians, the Brazilians, the Ghanaians and the Colombians to name but a few.

“Their engagement in the tournament, also bodes well for the future of football in this country with many more keen to get involved at a local level.”

Colin Smith, Fifa Director of Competitions, said: “New Zealand has proved to be a fantastic host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, it has been run by hugely dedicated individuals, passionate and enthusiastic volunteers and we are delighted with how well the tournament has been delivered across all seven host cities.”

The question does remain as to what benefits New Zealand football will see after hosting Fifa’s second largest male tournament.

Beeche added: “The legacy from this tournament will provide huge benefits for the football community in New Zealand with over $5 million dollars of football infrastructure and equipment left in place to help grow and improve the standard and facilities for football in New Zealand.”

Fifa have listed on their website the legacy benefits that New Zealand football should prosper from:
· 1,000 volunteers declared to get involved in local football after the tournament.
· Nine FIFA international standard sand-based training pitches across New Zealand.
· Goals, team benches, dug-outs and training equipment worth $140,000 provided to Football Federations.
· Futsal court worth $50,000 provided to New Zealand Football.
· VIP seats worth $50,000 provided to stadiums.
· 20 new floodlights (Christchurch and Whangarei).
· Over 500 schools have signed up the schools programme, learning about the tournament in the classroom.
· Over 8,000 young people took part in FIFA Grassroots Festivals over the last three months benefitting from world class training.