“We have organized two upcoming friendly matches in May for Ange Postecoglou and three Matildas players from Arsenal to come back to Australia. This aims to celebrate the achievements of some of our top football exports on the global stage.”
Tottenham, under the leadership of Postecoglou, will face Newcastle United, their fellow Premier League team, in a midweek exhibition match at the MCG on May 22nd. Two days later, there will also be a doubleheader featuring the A-League All Stars at Marvel Stadium.
On Friday evening, Arsenal Women will be the main event as they face off against the first ever women’s A-League All Stars team, featuring players such as Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, and Kyra Cooney-Cross, who are on the team’s roster.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United team will face off against the A-League All-Stars Men in the opening game of the match.
The games take place shortly after the end of the English seasons and before Euro 2024 begins. TEG’s managing director, Rachael Carroll, stated that there are contractual obligations to ensure that the clubs’ top players participate in the matches in Australia.
Tottenham’s chief football officer, Scott Munn, said all his club’s players will be available unless they are having surgery or there are “extenuating circumstances”. “I think there’s only one player [Timo Werner] that’s getting married that weekend, so he probably won’t travel.”
Ex-Australian national soccer player Mile Jedinak, who currently collaborates with Postecoglou as part of the Tottenham coaching team, stated that the aim of these occasions is to motivate Australians.
“I reflect on my own childhood and remember watching some major games on television that were truly inspiring. The upcoming event holds the same level of inspiration for me,” he stated. “We won’t know the ultimate impact it has on people until later, but we can certainly plant the seed of inspiration.”
Both games take place within the AFL season. The Tottenham match is scheduled at the MCG between the Collingwood vs Adelaide game and the Richmond vs Essendon game the following Saturday.
The schedule at Marvel Stadium is more compressed, as the AFL has currently planned matches the day before and after the All Stars game.
The championship match for the A-League Men’s soccer league is scheduled to take place on the weekend of May 25-26.
The Victorian sports minister, Steve Dimopoulos, stated that the games will contribute to the state’s economy.
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“We anticipate a large influx of visitors to Victoria, possibly from different locations, who will be here to witness the remarkable matches. They may stay for a few days and contribute to our economy while enjoying some of the top football matches in the world.”
Stephen Conroy, chair of Australian Professional Leagues, stated that the events would bring in more revenue for the domestic sport.
“Even if we only broke even – which we are not, as we are doing even better than that – the publicity and excitement generated would make it worth doing.”
The idea of All-Stars Men was first introduced in 2013 with a match against Manchester United, but it was not active until it was brought back in 2022 for a game against Barcelona. This event drew a crowd of 70,000 and showcased up-and-coming player Garang Kuol. Plans for a game against Bayern Munich in 2023 were mentioned, but ultimately did not come to fruition.
This year, the A-League Women All-Stars will introduce a brand new match. Lydia Williams, a Matildas goalkeeper, has expressed that the game against her previous team Arsenal will be a challenging and competitive one.
The individuals present will likely feel the urge to demonstrate their abilities against one of the top women’s clubs, and reciprocally, they will also strive to prove themselves upon arrival.
Source: theguardian.com
