Sydney FC will host Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 30 May at ANZ Stadium
WHILE attempts were made to bring Arsenal or Liverpool to Sydney, it was Tottenham who jumped at the chance to play a friendly match against the Sky Blues.
UPDATE: WHILE attempts were made to bring Arsenal or Liverpool to Sydney, it was Tottenham who jumped at the chance to play a friendly match against the Sky Blues.
Spurs will take on Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium on May 30, just six days after the conclusion of the English Premier League season.
It adds another big ticket item to a glamorous off-season for football in Australia, which will see Real Madrid, Manchester City and Roma visit Melbourne, with Liverpool in Brisbane and Adelaide.
The fixture against Spurs will feature all of the club’s big stars, including the likes of striker Harry Kane, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and classy Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen.
“It’s come about quite quickly,” Barlow said.
“We’ve been in active discussions with the various parties for over a month now, but it came together pretty quickly. There’s always a small window of opportunity for teams to travel in their offseason and it’s great to see more and more of these big, foreign clubs choosing Australia to play against A-League clubs and in front of passionate fans.
“Tottenham are a massive club, they’ve got a fan base that stretches the world over and certainly here in Sydney there are lots of Spurs fans who will be excited.”
Tottenham follow Manchester United and Juventus in coming to Sydney, with those two clubs playing the A-League All Stars in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The match will be part of a bumper week at ANZ Stadium, which will include a Super Rugby grand final replay between the Waratahs and Crusaders, as well as the opening game of rugby league’s State of Origin series.
However, with Liverpool set to play in Brisbane and Adelaide and Manchester City taking part in a tournament in Melbourne, Spurs will be the only English Premier League club in Sydney during the offseason, essentially ruling out the possibility of an A-League All Stars match this year.
Former Socceroos star Brett Emerton, who played against Spurs during his time in England, says the Sydney players will be looking forward to testing themselves against some of the world’s best.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how they go,” Emerton said.
“I think they will obviously put in a good account of themselves and hopefully put on a good show for all the fans.”
Destination NSW, who are the promoters of the event, estimates Tottenham’s visit will bring more than $10million to the state.
Tottenham are currently involved in a heated race for the Premier League’s top four alongside Arsenal, Manchester City, Southampton and Liverpool. They’ll travel to Sydney for the friendly at the conclusion of the current season.
“It will be a wonderful experience for our players to test themselves against some of the best footballers in the world,” Sydney FC head coach Graham Arnold said.
“Tottenham are one of the biggest clubs in the English Premier League and have a fantastic record and history.
“We are looking forward to finishing off our season on a high with this game.”
Spurs boss Mauricio ochettino said: “We are looking forward to visiting Sydney and giving our fans in that part of the world an opportunity to see the team up close.
“We all appreciate the fantastic support we receive across the world and the commitment that people in different time zones make to watch games live on TV, so to bring the team to them is a great way to say thank you.
“Our match against Sydney FC is sure to be hard-fought and entertaining, with the A-League becoming stronger every year and attracting some big name players, so we would like to thank the New South Wales Government and Destination New South Wales for the chance to visit your beautiful city.”
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy added: “The visit to Sydney will provide the Club with a perfect opportunity to engage with a growing fanbase across the Asia-Pacific region and an extremely passionate Official Supporters Club in Oz Spurs.
“We are proud of our global network of over 100 Official Supporters Clubs, and no doubt we shall see members from clubs across the region pack out the ANZ Stadium to watch us play Sydney FC on Saturday May 30.”
Tickets for the game go on sale from 10am Monday 9 March, following a pre-sale for Sydney FC members.
Originally published as Sydney FC will host Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 30 May at ANZ Stadium