8 | Auckland City Council T T Karen Phelps Auckland readies for World Cup role Dr Claudia Wyss: “We’re proud to play a role in supporting the wider growth and development of the women’s game.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT All eyes will be on Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland when the FIFA Women’s World Cup (FWWC) tournament kicks off in July and Auckland Council is ensuring that Auckland is ready to welcome visitors with a world-class experience, says Auckland Council’s Director of Customer and Community Services Dr Claudia Wyss. Auckland Council is working closely with the local FIFA subsidiary, the government, New Zealand Football and Sport New Zealand to prepare nine world-class Team Base Camp training venues. Eight have been confirmed as Team Base Camp locations for teams based in Auckland and one will be a contingency training venue for the tournament receiving all required upgrades. “International teams who will call Auckland their ‘home away from home’ will spend considerable time at these venues, so it’s important we ensure our grounds and facilities are up to the standards set by FIFA to bring out the best performances from the players,” says Claudia. “Our team of staff and contractors have been working hard to achieve these standards as the fields have an intense maintenance regime that covers mowing, fertilising, drainage and irrigation servicing and line marking.” She says the fields also need to undergo rigorous testing and monitoring to measure a range of metrics to ensure quality and consistency across the Team Base Camp training venues. These include ball roll, hardness, moisture, traction, surface level, temperature, grass length and root depth. To meet FIFA requirements and to ensure optimal performance Council has also installed all new LED light fittings so that sites have stadium-grade lighting. As a result five training venues will be floodlit for the first time, creating over 40 hours per week of additional sports field capacity in Auckland. Claudia says these rigorous standards are necessary to ensure pitches closely resemble that of the stadiums where teams will ultimately play matches. New and improved change facilities will include individual showers, privacy screens, cubicle toilets, baby change tables, accessible bathrooms and gender-neutral changing rooms for both players and officials. She says the recent weather events presented unprecedented challenges as it impacted many of the fields. “Our teams have worked tirelessly over the past few months to assess and repair the damage to our fields as quickly as possible to make sure everything is still on schedule. The auditor who came to inspect our fields just four days after Cyclone Gabrielle hit the North Island said the condition of the training venues was remarkable given the what the region has just been through – so this really is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams.” “It’s important we ensure our grounds and facilities are up to the standards set by FIFA to bring out the best performances from the players.” The more than $18 million that is being invested in the training venues comes from a variety of sources including Auckland Council, club contributions and a $6.2m investment from the government announced by the Minister for Sport and Recreation late last year. Claudia says that not only will these upgrades help enhance the attractiveness of the region to visitors from around the world but the investment will bring lasting benefits for communities with more opportunities for sport and recreation and an increased field capacity for athletes across Auckland, which will support the development of stronger clubs and healthier communities. She says that hosting the world’s premier women’s sporting tournament will also help to raise the profile of women’s sport in New Zealand. “It’s exciting that so many clubs and communities across Auckland will be able to connect with visiting teams during the tournament. “Creating a connection for Aucklanders in each of these communities will significantly increase the visibility and profile of women’s football and inspire the next generation of Football Ferns. “We’re proud to play a role in supporting the wider growth and development of the women’s game. “Not only will this open up more opportunities for girls and women who want to participate in sports, but it will also help with creating more opportunities for women to get into sports leadership and management roles.” Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. 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