New Zealand to give All Whites 'victory' parade
Reuters - Friday 25 June 2010, 05:45
WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister
John Key wants the All Whites to receive a champions' parade
for their battling performance at the World Cup, where they
were knocked out in the group stage without losing a match.
New Zealand drew all three of their contests in South
Africa in their second appearance at the finals after being
thrashed in all their group games at the 1982 tournament in
Spain.
"It would be nice to see their result celebrated," Key told
local media on Friday. "They'll come back as champions."
New Zealand, 78th in the FIFA world rankings, will return
home after upsetting the odds by holding Slovakia, Paraguay and
World Cup holders Italy in Group F.
"They are a team that are going to come back to New Zealand
as heroes," Key said. "It was always going to be a Herculean
task to get through.
"In the end they didn't quite make it on points but a
result nevertheless that we can all be proud of."
However, an official celebration for the New Zealand side
could be at least a week and up to a month away with players
and coaching staff arriving back at different times.
Wellington would be the likely venue for the parade after
talks with New Zealand Football, according to the country's
NZPA news service.
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