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Canberra will host the Socceroos’ Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait in March in what Football Federation Australia says will be a “litmus test” for the city’s prospects of joining the A-League.
The March 5 match at Canberra Stadium will be Australia’s second qualifying match for the 2011 tournament after next Wednesday’s opener against Indonesia in Jakarta.
But FFA said it would also be a chance for the Canberra public to boost the local bid for an A-League license from the 2010-2011 season.
“This is a great litmus test for the people of Canberra to actually see if an A-League licence was to be issued to Canberra will the community support it,” FFA chief commercial officer John O’Sullivan said.
Canberra Stadium can hold 26,500 fans and O’Sullivan said FFA would be disappointed with any less than 20,000.
“It’s a critical match for the (Asian Cup) campaign,” he said.
“Outside of the World Cup qualifiers it’s arguably the most important fixture that the Socceroos will play in Australia this year.”
ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said FFA had thrown down the gauntlet to Canberra, and urged the community to respond by filling the stadium.
“There’s something of a testing of the water here by FFA and it now behooves Canberrans to get out and fill this stadium,” Stanhope said.
“This is a test about the capacity and quality of the stadium and the willingness of Canberrans to support football.
“We do need to give that indication that the case that (bid leader) Ivan Slavich and the A-League supporters have been making is well-founded.”
More than 5,000 fans have already pledged their support for a Canberra A-League team with the ACT government pledging $2.5 million in funding.
Canberra is battling with the likes of South Coast, Western Sydney and Tasmania for a spot in the expanding competition.
Australia has been drawn in Group B of the Asian Cup qualification stage along with Indonesia, Kuwait and Oman.
The top two teams from each group progress to the AFC Asian Cup 2011 to be held in Qatar.
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