World Footy News

One key indicator for whether AFL football games will continue to be played in Wellington will be the attendance at the Anzac Day game between the Sydney Swans and St Kilda.

The 3 pre-season games played between 1998-2001 had attendances within the range of 8,000 - 12,000 people. When reflecting on some of the attendances in the AFL last year this probably doesn't compare too badly, at times.

It has been reported that major hotels in Wellington are already full with 2 night minimum stays being required in some cases over the Anzac Day break. Certainly trying to book an airfare to Wellington late last month meant this correspondent had to travel for over 6 hours to get there via Sydney at rather an inflated cost!

However all this bodes extremely well with the Wellington Stadium seating over 30,000 and some predicting a sell out with the influx of international visitors as well as the locals keen to attend the game.

Certainly it is an historic occasion for the AFL and the code in general and those interested in AFL being played internationally can only hope it is a massive success.

For more see Full houses for Anzac AFL clash