London is set to host one of international football’s oldest rivalries when Australia and New Zealand face off at Brentford FC’s Gtech Community Stadium later in October with the ‘Soccer Ashes’ up for grabs.
The football trophy, inspired by the cricket counterpart, had been lost since 1954 only to be recently found in the garage of former Australian Soccer Federation Association chair Sydney Story. It contains the ashes of cigars smoked by the New Zealand captain George Campbell and his Australian counterpart Alex Gibb after a meeting of the teams back in June 1923.
The ashes were placed inside a silver-plated razor case, itself inside an elaborate wooden casket made from a combination of New Zealand honeysuckle and Australian maple by New Zealand trophy maker Harry Mayer. For the first time in 69 years, and 100 years since the first meeting, the rivals will be able to claim the rarest of football prizes.
A huge crowd is expected at the Gtech Community Stadium, and you can be there to join them. We have a pair of tickets to give away to attend this historic renewal of the Soccer Ashes on 17 October 2023 (kick-off 7.45pm).
To be in with a chance of winning the pair of tickets, follow @standardsport on Twitter and retweet the below tweet. Tickets from £16 for adults and £12 for under-17s can be purchased from eticketing.co.uk/brentfordfc/.
