- Team GB men’s team to play first matches in Manchester, London and Cardiff
- Team GB women’s team to play in Cardiff and London
- Tickets for the Olympic Football Tournament go back on sale on 29 November 2011 from 11.00am
- Competition draw will take place on 24 April 2012
The Millennium Stadium will host both the Team GB men’s and women’s Olympic football teams at next year’s London 2012 Games, it was confirmed today.
The men’s team, coached by Stuart Pearce, play their final group game – the potential group decider – at the iconic Cardiff city centre venue on Wednesday 1 August.
The women’s team, coached by Hope Powell, will also appear at the home of Welsh international rugby in their group stages, opening the tournament on Wednesday 25 July and playing the second of their three knock-out stage qualification matches, on Saturday 28 July.
The Millennium Stadium, which can count each of the FA Cup finals, FA Community Shield games and Football League Div 1, 2 & 3 Play-offs held between 2001 and 2006 already as part of its illustrious history in football, also has the added honour of hosting the first event of the London 2012 Olympics – the women’s competition kicks off in Cardiff two days before the official opening ceremony at Olympic Park.
The Welsh national stadium’s famous retractable roof will watch over 12 football matches in total, with one men’s quarter final match, a women’s quarter final match and the men’s bronze medal final also promising to be highlights.
“It is a huge honour not just for the Millennium Stadium but for Cardiff and Wales to be able to play such an important part in the London 2012 Olympics,” said Millennium Stadium general manager Gerry Toms.
“We are particularly excited about the prospect of hosting those three games in the knockout stages and the fact that we will actually host the first event of the games on 25th July is also a great honour.
“But to now find out that we are guaranteed to see both Team GB sides at the Millennium Stadium should really capture the imagination of the football watching public in Wales.
“The Olympics is a once in a lifetime event for many people and, with the football tournament providing easy access to tickets and a capacity of 74,600 here at the Millennium Stadium, we fully expect fans to turn out in their droves for the chance to be able to say ‘I was there’ and to cheer on Team GB or their adopted side.”
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed all of the dates of Team GB’s group stage fixtures ahead of London 2012 Olympic Football tickets going back on sale on 29 November 2011.
The men’s team begin their London 2012 campaign at Old Trafford on Thursday 26 July, followed by Wembley Stadium on Sunday 29 July before playing their final group game at Millennium Stadium.
The women’s team begin the tournament in Cardiff and also play their second game at Millennium Stadium, before their final group stage match takes place on Tuesday 31 July at Wembley Stadium.
Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Football Tournaments will go back on sale from 11am on 29 November 2011 on a first come, first served basis at www.tickets.london2012.com or via telephone on 0844 847 2012. In recognition of Visa's longstanding support of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, only Visa (debit, credit and prepaid) can be used to purchase tickets.
The Official Draw for the Olympic Football Tournament will take place on 24 April 2012 at Wembley Stadium.
LOCOG Director of Sport Debbie Jevans commented, “The prospect of Team GB taking part in the Games has captured the imagination of the public and we are pleased to be able to confirm their group stage fixtures ahead of tickets going back on sale. With teams like Spain and Brazil already qualified and fantastic venues across the country, the Olympic Football Tournaments promise to be a great family day out at the Olympic Games next summer.”
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics said: “I am really looking forward to watching Team GB men’s and women’s football teams compete in 2012, and there are no greater football venues anywhere than our host stadiums. There are still tickets left, so I encourage everyone to try and get one and support the team in 2012.”
Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said, “We are delighted that the group fixtures for Team GB in both men’s and women’s football will allow fans from throughout the United Kingdom to experience the spirit and energy of the Olympic Games while showing their support for Team GB.”
There are more than 1.5 million Football tickets still available across all sessions, with limited availability at matches taking place at Wembley.
Notes to editors: For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/london2012
As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock.
The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
About Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB is proud to partner the London 2012 ticketing programme and is supporting communities all over Britain on their journey to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To find out more about its London 2012 programmes visit Lloydstsb.com/London2012
For further information about the Millennium Stadium please contact:
Simon Rimmer
Communications Manager, Welsh Rugby Union
M: 0044 (0) 7825 981 128 (message service)
Email: srimmer@wru.co.uk
WRU Direct Line: 0044 (0) 2920 822391 (no message service)
WRU Switchboard: 0044 (0) 2920 822000
0 comments:
Post a Comment