Rugby has the Bledisloe Cup, cricket has the Chappell-Hadlee series and rugby league has had, until 2019 at least, the Anzac Test.
With the announcement of the All Whites’ squad for our trans-Tasman fixtures this month, why isn’t this an annual or at least bi-annual fixture?
FIFA has six 10-day windows every year and not all of those windows are for world or regional qualifying matches, there’s plenty of room - if the appetite is there - for this fixture to become a regular occurrence.
Things have changed over the last 10 years too. Australia are no longer the dominant force they were with names like Kewell, Viduka and Cahill, so this won’t be a meeting with the plucky underdog neighbour.
In Chris Wood, Liberato Cacace, Sarpreet Singh and Matt Garbett, New Zealand has four players contracted to clubs in the biggest leagues in Europe. What would it do for the game here and for the rivalry with the Aussies to have these games happen on a regular basis?
Football is the biggest sport in the world, the global game, the sponsorship dollars will be there for it and if ticket sales for Eden Park are anything to go by, so is the appetite from the fans.
I remember my Dad taking me to all the qualifying games for World Cup '82 at Mt Smart Stadium and running on the field to get Grant Turner's autograph after that epic 3-3 draw against the Socceroos.
It stoked the fire of fandom in me, a passion for football that’s still there today. Let’s make the same happen for the next generation.