Fans come from far and wide to cheer for favourite FIFA team

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/06/2015 (4107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:4283942863001:wfpvideo

It’s a feast for the senses at Investors Group Field as fans from the world over are descending on Winnipeg.

Decked out in team colours — most of them red, white and blue — and chanting for their favourite countries, soccer fans are among the most rowdy you’ll find.

“When it comes to soccer, everyone plays — male or female,” said Temi Fatunmbi, a fan of Team Nigeria who hails from Winnipeg. “The most important thing is entertainment… This is the best thing to happen to Winnipeg in a long time.”

Many young girls are at IGF to see their soccer idols play and pick up pointers so they might be able to play on the world stage one day.

Winnipeg’s FC Northwest, a team of 13- and 14-year-old girls, confessed they skipped their afternoon classes to come watch soccer.

Alex Roth, 9, and Corrin Roth, 6, drove up with their parents from Charlotte, North Carolina.

The 24-hour trek was worth it to see Team USA play, they said, although they could have done without the three-hour stop at the Canada-U.S. border.

Michael Schmidt, 28, Robert Miller, 28, John Miller, 25 and Dan Eriksson, 26, endured a five-hour wait at the Emerson border just to get to Winnipeg for the games.

Alexander Herrera could not believe his luck — he, too, got to miss school and go see World Cup soccer.

“Awesome!” was the eight-year-old Winnipeg boy’s reaction as he and his mom Della arrived at Winnipeg Stadium — theUniversity of Manitoba facility named such for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer games — on Monday to see the first day of games.

“I’m excited to see my favourite teams win, Nigeria and USA,” he said.

Della and Alex were in a sea of soccer fans from numerous other locations in the world but mainly The USA since the American team was playing in Monday’s second match taking on Australia.

Fans began arriving two hours early and a festival atmosphere prevailed outside the soccer park.

The first women’s World Cup match in Winnipeg is now underway with teams Sweden and Nigeria kicking things off.

The second game, Team USA vs. Team Australia, is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.

World Cup fans who wanted to catch the action live had to buy tickets to both games in a package deal. The stands at IGF aren’t nearly full yet, though Ticketmaster staff said the game is a “sellout”.

 

— with files from Ashley Prest

wfpslideshow:306540911:wfpslideshow