With all the drama surrounding Tottenham Hotspur this season, it’s easy to forget that immediately following the conclusion of the season there’s a World Cup - which is then followed by two preseason fixtures in Sydney, Australia, one of which is against London rivals Chelsea.
Well, it appears that the Spurs senior brass were not satisfied with a tour of New Zealand’s West Island; they’ve opted to head to the real thing now as well.
New Zealand media outlet Sport Nation NZ has reported an exclusive in the last couple of days that Spurs are heading to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, to play A-League side Auckland FC. Funnily enough (well, maybe not), they’ve titled their exclusive “Premier League club heading to New Zealand”, a status which by all means is no fait accompli for Spurs given how this season has progressed.
The report is light on direct detail, with the CEO of Auckland FC offering a “No comment” when approached, but the fixture is expected to be scheduled close to Spurs’ matches in Sydney during the last week of July / start of August. Their opponents, Auckland FC, are a rather new club in the A-League, coming into the competition for the first time last season. They have accounted for themselves decently as well, finishing as Premiers last season (top of the table before a post-season playoff round, the A-League is weird) and currently in second position on this season’s ladder.
Though they (or any A-League club, for that matter) are not really all that close to Spurs’ level, they are not to be confused with Auckland City FC, the semi-professional club from NZ’s domestic league that was trounced by all and sundry at the Club World Cup last summer, and will at least provide a good test to build fitness and get some miles in the legs for some of Spurs’ up-and-coming squad players.
On a personal note, as a Kiwi myself, it’s nice to see Spurs make the trip to this little corner of the world; albeit slightly frustrating, given I’ve already booked my flights to Sydney. But first world problems and all that.
Hopefully, there should be some sort of announcement in the coming weeks; assuming the report is accurate, of course. We’re taking a little bit of a stab in the dark in this case and assuming it is.