As the group stage draws to a close, fans from the U.S, Sweden, and Australia will be looking to travel to another city in Canada (Nigeria head home), but what about Winnipeg, their base for the first week of the tournament – how did it do?
By Kieran Theivam
So how did Winnipeg do in hosting 10,000 + Americans, as well as a European giant, the African Cup of Nations champions, and one of the most exciting young teams in the world?
Well, here’s my take on the good and the bad during a week reporting in that city:
The Good
The Volunteers
Couldn’t have been more helpful from my experience dealing with them. Welcoming, friendly and always willing to help, whether it be sorting out passes for the mixed zone, or simply pointing you to the nearest bathroom.
Winnipeg can be proud of its volunteers that are giving up their time and leaving a good impression on their visitors.
The Locals
Much like the volunteers, very welcoming, whether that was out in the streets, or in the bars while watching the other games going on. Clearly people who knew the World Cup was being held in their city were very proud of that fact – the ones I spoke to anyway.
It certainly made me chuckle when they would ask “Are you here for the FIFA?,” but all in all they were enthusiastic and their welcoming of thousands of soccer fans supported that.
The Stadium
Ok, so it’s turf, and we all hate turf, so let’s forget about that for one moment. Winnipeg Stadium is an impressive venue that is more used to hosting CFL (Canadian Football League) than it is soccer. However, it made for a good host and the atmosphere was certainly locked inside. One complaint from a media perspective would be that from the back row of the press box, you couldn’t see the near touchline or corners.
Pictured – Abby Wambach celebrates
The Bad
The taxi drivers
From the moment I stepped off the plane in Winnipeg and jumped into a cab, I was being told by a local cab driver how ‘unsafe’ it was Downtown and how I should never walk anywhere after 11pm. In terms of making people feel welcome and at ease, this is not the way to go about it.
Perhaps they were just trying to drum up further business, but three separate cab drivers told me how bad drink and drug addicts were in the city, not exactly reassuring. For the record, I felt safe the whole time I was there.
Fan experience
Ok, so if you were an alien that arrived from outer space, you might not know that the World Cup was even taking place. Other than a ‘Welcome to Winnipeg stand at the airport, I didn’t see any sort of signage Downtown.
Furthermore, in between the games on Monday and Friday, there was very little for fans to do. There is a brilliant museum and a zoo, but that’s about it. FIFA and the local authorities have done little to offer any sort of fan experience or for anywhere for fans to congregate and mingle.
Quite often I saw fans walking around the city aimlessly wondering what on earth they could do to fill their time. Many fans spent time in bars watching the other games taking place, but there was nowhere central, such as a fan park, for them to get together.
The Merchandise
Or should I say lack of it. Some 10,000 Americans descended onto the city, with many queueing outside the stadium hours before kick-off to get their hands on official merchandise. The demand far outweighed the supply and many were left disappointed, including myself. A real shame and a missed opportunity to make a few extra dollars.
All in all, Winnipeg people can be proud of how they welcomed the masses to their city, but they have been let down by people who had the power and control to make this a memorable experience for fans.
Sadly, I fear many will never visit the city again, with some locals telling me they were ’embarrassed’ by the lack of opportunities for fans and the traffic caused by badly timed roadworks. Even the local media were scathing of how poorly the authorities had planned for the event.
Winnipeg will be remembered for its friendly people and the pulsating encounter between Nigeria and Sweden, but sadly for me, not an awful lot more.
Photos – www.actionimages.com
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