20 January 2009

Big night out for the round ball enthusiasts - Socceroos v. Kuwait

20 January 2009 | johnboy

Mr Stanhope has announced that the first Australian qualifier in the Asian Football Championship will be played here in Canberra against Kuwait.

“Since the Socceroos’ outstanding performance at the 2006 Football World Cup, the team has captured the imagination of Australia’s sporting community and many Canberrans,” Mr Stanhope said. “We’re delighted that Canberra has been chosen for this exciting match and we look forward to working with FFA to make this event a success.

“FFA is serious about hosting the Football World Cup in 2018 and we are equally serious about ensuring Canberra Stadium is selected as one of the host venues. This match is our opportunity to showcase Canberra Stadium as a suitable venue and demonstrate Canberra’s support for international matches. We hope to attract a crowd in excess of 20,000 for the match.

I’d also suggest that anything less than a full house will be very bad news for the A-League bid.

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astrojax12:48 pm 21 Jan 09

I think there was a Socceroos match played back in 1996 but don’t quote me. …think you may be thinking of a Joeys game vs Tahiti?

it was a socceroos game, but yes against tahiti, and we won 4-0.

this will be a much better prepared squad, albeit filled with a-leaguers. i’ll be following their exploits in jakarta next week closely, should give us some idea of how they stack up.

Granny11:26 pm 20 Jan 09

I’ll consider it my homework, Swaggie!

Swaggie11:16 pm 20 Jan 09

Overheard – Just loan Granny a copy of ‘The Full Monty’ for a good explanation of the Offside trap 🙂

Overheard11:01 pm 20 Jan 09

Granny said :

Fantastic, Overheard, thank you! Do you think I could sit with you at the game as well?

Yeah, for sure. Anyone else out there want to go as a group?

Juice Terry10:59 pm 20 Jan 09

jmac said :

I think there was a Socceroos match played back in 1996 but don’t quote me.

I think you may be thinking of a Joeys game vs Tahiti? (possibly played immediately before/after a Cosmos game?). I remember there was a decent crowd out for that – around 10,000 which wasn’t too bad considering it was just youth football.

Granny10:50 pm 20 Jan 09

Fantastic, Overheard, thank you! Do you think I could sit with you at the game as well?

G-Fresh10:49 pm 20 Jan 09

Safe.

jmac10:25 pm 20 Jan 09

Juice Terry said :

That’s quite exciting news. Does anyone know if there’s ever been a Socceroos game in Canberra before? I know there has been youth internationals, Matildas games and the odd Olyroos friendly, but in my entire 34 years, I can’t recall a full international being played in the capital.

I think there was a Socceroos match played back in 1996 but don’t quote me.

I’ll be at this game for sure! 🙂 It is not a FIFA approved match so the big European clubs do not have to release their players, so the chances of our big guns coming back is very slim, but our lads from the A-League will do us proud and it should be a fantastic match.

If Canberra doesn’t support this and pack out Canberra Stadium then we do not deserve an A-League club…so i sure hope we fill the stadium!

Overheard10:06 pm 20 Jan 09

I’ll be there. Granny, I’m happy to explain some of the finer points. Remind me at trivia next week and I’ll demonstrate the offside rule with a salt and pepper shaker and a couple of schooner glasses.

Juice Terry8:17 pm 20 Jan 09

That’s quite exciting news. Does anyone know if there’s ever been a Socceroos game in Canberra before? I know there has been youth internationals, Matildas games and the odd Olyroos friendly, but in my entire 34 years, I can’t recall a full international being played in the capital.

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