New Zealand apologise to kids for no-show
New Zealand Football apologised on Friday after All Whites players reportedly went clubbing in Shanghai following a match against China, then failed to turn up for a breakfast with young fans.
The New Zealand Herald said NZF chairman Frank van Hattum showed up to the event on Thursday morning without any of the team who played in a 1-1 draw against China the previous night, leaving expatriate Kiwi children disappointed.
It said New Zealand businessman Howard Moore complained on his Facebook page that the team had squandered a chance to build goodwill among supporters with the no-show at the event organised by expat organisation Kea.
"All Whites efforts were obliterated by their failure to turn up the next morning at a Kea breakfast function to which many kids came along expecting to see the All Whites as advertised," he posted.
"The reality was they went out to the M1NT Bar nightclub and couldn't make the effort to turn up for this breakfast."
The venue features a shark tank and on its website boasts that it has the third-highest sales of Dom Perignon champagne in the world.
NZF did not say whether players had attended the club, but issued a statement saying it did not know that players were expected at the function.
"NZF was unaware that the breakfast had been promoted on the Kea China website and that the All Whites were expected to attend and apologises to the fans who turned up to see them," it said.
