It’s been 13 years between drinks, but in less than 24 hours, the world’s biggest youth touch tournament gets underway in Putrajaya, Malaysia. 

The last Youth World Cup was across the ditch, and surprisingly, New Zealand came away with the silverware, as joint winters with their Trans-Tasman rivals. 

Federation of International Touch (FIT) President Erick Acker says the traditional Trans -Tasman rivalry is one of many spectacles he’s looking forward to at the Royal Equestrian park. 

“New Zealand has great skills, and I hope they will do well and they will be able to beat Australia who is looking for the big cap. It will be a great challenge. I don’t know who the winner will be at the end of the day, but it might be New Zealand.”

The tournament is also an opportunity for nations like Hong Kong, Singapore, China and hosts Malaysia to develop. For many of these players, it will be the first time they get to play New Zealand, “I think it’s great to see all these teams coming up. Some, of course, are beginners and will have a lot of poor competition. But, it doesn’t matter, it’s a learning curve.”

“It’s a really good opportunity to start again with the Youth Touch World Cup. We have a small format today, but it’s a new beginning. Next time it will be a great event.”  

Europe is the major association that is missing in Malaysia, but, Acker believes that this tournament will be the catalyst for other countries to send their youth teams to the world cup. 

“We have nearly 50 members, but not everyone has enough players at Youth level. It’s a start, it will be a wonderful event, but it will be a greater event in four years because it will encourage all the other countries to develop the grassroots level.”

The tournament gets underway tomorrow, with the opening ceremony starting at 1pm NZT, with streaming available through the FIT Facebook site. 

Article added: Tuesday 07 August 2018