eNewsWire

Iceland will clash with the Netherlands on the green grass of Laugardalsvollur in Reykjavik on Saturday 6th June. The two countries will be competing in the second leg of their qualification battle in Group 9 for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

The Dutch and Icelandic men’s football teams already met in Rotterdam, with Holland winning October’s match 2-0.

Group leaders, the Netherlands will almost certainly be making the trip to South Africa; but third place Iceland still have a chance too and will be pushing their Dutch visitors hard in June.

Icelandair supports football in Iceland by being one of the national team’s main sponsors and by offering special football travel deals for fans eager to see the game in person.

Dutch tourists in Iceland are always among the most numerous and are already booking in their hundreds to follow their team, at the same time as enjoying Iceland travel in springtime.

Icelandair has added two flights to its daily Amsterdam schedule and increased aircraft size on departures around the time of the game.

It’s a long time since the last Iceland Holland football match took place in Iceland. The two teams were together for Olympic qualifying in 1988 and for European Cup qualifying in 1984. Both Iceland home games in those competitions ended in a draw.  

“The Dutch team is really strong, but ‘Our Boys’ have frequently shown how at home they are playing stronger teams on the world stage – especially if the support in the stadium is as powerful as recently,” the Icelandic ticketing website extols.

Dutch football fans are queuing up to visit Iceland just to make some noise to put the Icelanders off!

More details at www.icelandair.com

Manchester City fans can now kick off their football experience early by booking their matchday hospitality online, unlike their Barclays Premier League rivals. With Manchester City Football Club online hospitality, customers can simply select the fixture package of their choice receiving a 10% discount throughout February and immediate booking confirmation.

The site really brings the facilities and thrill of football alive. It showcases the modern cuisine and dedicated personal service that has made Manchester City’s matchday hospitality offer one of the finest in the Premier League.

Visitors are invited to take a look around the iconic City of Manchester Stadium, with video footage showcasing each of the six atmospheric suites, from the newly refurbished Boardroom Suite featuring elegant surroundings and VIP pitch side seating, to the legendary Citizens’ Suite – for City supporters who deserve an extra special treat. The vibrant Mancunian and historic 1894 Club Restaurant, together with 70 luxury executive boxes offering unrivalled views, are also showcased as ideal places to meet other fans and enjoy the beautiful game.

“We’re delighted to offer this online booking service to new and existing matchday hospitality guests. We’re inviting people to be a part of ‘The Club’ and hopefully, by widening our online capability in this way, we will be encouraging guests to do exactly that,” David Chell, Manchester City’s Head of Sales, commented on the launch.

Customer satisfaction for overall matchday experience at the Stadium has increased dramatically in recent years, rising from 72 per cent in 2005/6 to 94 per cent at the end of 2007/8 season.

Outside of the matchday hospitality, the Stadium is fast becoming the venue of choice for major sporting events such as the UEFA Cup Final through to popular music concerts and major corporate and social events from product launches, weddings and Christmas parties.

David Chell, City’s Head of Sales concluded: “Consumers can book almost anything online these days, so it was only natural we wanted to add matchday hospitality to the list. We strive to stay ahead of the competition in every aspect of our offer, but most importantly we want to deliver an unforgettable experience for every guest who walks through our doors, on or off match days.”

Stadium’s award winning match day hospitality facilities, along with special events, can be found at the Manchester City Football Club’s website at www.mcfc.co.uk/hospitality or on 0870 062 4141.

ENDS.

For more information contact:
Laura McLaren or Juliet Cort at Freshfield PR: 01772 888400 or email (firstname)@freshfield.com

Footboost (www.footboost.com) launched today a beta version of their site. At Footboost.com users pick or create a virtual battle between two football players, active or retired, to decide who´s the best in the sport.

In a battle, you can vote for your favorite player and post comments to support your vote. Although the majority of users come from England the site will attract football/soccer fans from around the world and will profile footballers from the English Premier League and major international FIFA leagues.

“In football, it is sometimes hard to compare players from different generations to one another to determine who is better. Even more, players from the same generation are often difficult to compare, given the nature of team sport. We wanted to find out what real sport fans think about footballers across generations, thereby creating interesting debates about the game you love. That´s why we created Footboost.com”, said Ed the General Manager of the site.

Although users of Footboost.com will be able to create their own battles eventually, during the beta version the administrators created the following battles: Read more…