The boss of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup says a crowded sports calender will help rather than hinder the football event.
Fifa Under-20 World Cup local organising committee chief executive Dave Beeche was in Dunedin yesterday, checking out playing and training facilities and meeting football and Dunedin City Council officials.
Beeche said Dunedin was on track for the tournament.
The city will host six pool games and a round-of 16 clash in late May and early June.
The stadium looked fine, the training facilities and accommodation were in place and 200 volunteers were signed up with hope more people would come forward.
Beeche said each city would have an activity area outside the stadium where fans could come together before games.
Talks with council officials of where the activity zone, to be known as Feverpitch, would be located in Dunedin were continuing but it would differ from fan zones seen at the Rugby World Cup, as there would be no big screens.
''We want people to go along to the stadium and see the games. Perhaps if the stadium sells out, then we may look at that but we want to get as many people as we can into the stadium,'' he said.
He said ticket sales were going well in Dunedin and overall 50,000 tickets had been sold around the country. The aim was to sell 500,000.
Fifa tournaments differed from rugby and cricket, in which the teams were known years out from the tournament.
Qualifiers for the tournament were still going on in Africa and South America.
The draw would take place in Auckland on February 10 and tickets to individual games would go on general sale a month later.
The draw would decide where teams will play and Beeche said it was completely wide open, so glamour teams such as Brazil and Argentina could come to Dunedin.
The venue packs now on sale would be on sale slightly longer in Dunedin to take advantage of students returning to the city.
The New Zealand side was likely to play its games in the three main centres.
The event will come two months after New Zealand has hosted a big chunk of the Cricket World Cup and Beeche saw that as a positive.
''I think the three key events for New Zealand this year are the Cricket World Cup, our tournament and the Rugby World Cup.
''None of them overlap. And that is good. I think we are going to head into an era like the Rugby World Cup where New Zealanders really got excited about major events. The enthusiasm and the social phenomenon was infectious.
''I think the best thing that can happen to us is the Cricket World Cup is a knockout success ... and the minute they finish they are going to be looking for the next great thing and it is going to be our tournament.''
