I have been lucky enough to have seen and worked at world cups overseas so I was super excited to see the women’s tournament in my home city. Six games, six unbelievable global experiences at Dunedin Stadium.
Soccer is affectionately known as "the beautiful game" and for the past few weeks it has been at its very finest.
It has been a world cup of historic firsts. New Zealand, Philippines, and Morocco winning their first games ever; Moroccan player Nouhaila Benzina the first player to wear a hijab, and the tournament has garnered more than 1.5million spectators - a record for the Women’s World Cup before we even reached the quarterfinals.
The international television audience alone has already passed 2billion (equal to a quarter of the world’s population).
My personal highlight was going to games with my friend’s two teenage daughters, watching how engaged they were in the game and the teams playing. I enjoyed explaining the tactics, translating the chants of international supporters - where I could - and marvelling with them at the incredible athleticism on display.
One of the girls asked me "Why do they say this is just inspiring to girls? It is not as though the All Blacks just play for boys".
This is exactly why this was such an important moment for our city.
I also enjoyed socialising with international fans who had travelled to Dunedin for the games. Among them Portuguese, Dutch, Costa Ricans, Argentinians, but the most fascinating were the Japanese fans.
For their game in Dunedin, I was seated beside Keizo, a retiree from Hokkaido, who had travelled on a whim to support his national team. While Keizo’s beaming smile suggested he loved his time in Dunedin, I did wonder how he felt being in a stadium less than quarter-full, watching one of the tournament’s best teams.
A similar sense of irony hit me when photographing the Netherlands march to the stadium from the Octagon. As the Orange Army set out, I was asked "What way can we go?". The key information they needed was whether they should go through George St or avoid public-works mayhem.
Did we really make the most of it? Now, following the tournament on the box, I cannot help thinking Dunedin missed an historic opportunity.
As the only host city in the South Island the massive television audiences created unmatched visibility for Dunedin.
An intuitive opportunity existed to promote the city with Japanese fans, one of New Zealand’s largest Asian sources of tourists.
Despite this it was remarkable how little promotion of the tournament took place in the city.
The town hall hosted an official fan zone for some of the game days, including gigs, live games on the big screen, interactive stalls and food trucks. However, the zone did not have a clear visual presence in the Octagon, obscured by scaffolding and a mural that was unrelated to the events inside. Many families I interviewed locally were not aware or did not feel comfortable entering the zone, despite significant investment in the activity.
Further, retail in the city has not been supported in a meaningful way during the tournament. Apart from two generic posters, venues could not capture the atmosphere of the major event that was occurring in the city.
A simple solution - create a "pre-game route" highlighting how fans could enjoy Dunedin’s hospitality before the game.
Outside of the sold-out Football Ferns/Switzerland match, the other five games hosted in Dunedin attracted on average only a third of the stadium’s capacity. While the atmosphere at these games was great, we really could have done better.
Part of the problem was the failure of the University of Otago to promote the tournament in any way. The campus was devoid of any world cup atmosphere, despite hosting students from the nations playing games in Dunedin.
Looking at empty seats, the biggest value would have been for school children to have enjoyed a truly global experience in their own city.
Teachers I spoke to at the games said their students’ presence was the result of teacher, school and community mahi in the absence of any wider support.
The Fifa Women’s World Cup is the biggest event Dunedin has hosted and based on the tournament’s success, Fifa may offer Australia and New Zealand the men’s world cup in the next eight to 12-year cycle.
I hope next time, Dunedin is ready to make the very most of it.
- Jerry Clode has worked as a sports marketer internationally, including at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
