Bosses across Sydney have been urged to let their employees watch the Socceroos’ final FIFA World Cup group game at work to promote national unity and \u201cshow support for the green and gold\u201d.<\/p>\n
After beating T\u00fcrkiye and losing to the US, the Socceroos\u2019 last group stage game against Paraguay on Friday will be crucial for the national team\u2019s hopes of reaching the knockout stage of this year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n
However, for millions of Socceroos fans around the country, tomorrow\u2019s kick off at 12pm AEST will fall during the middle of the workday.<\/p>\n
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou has called for businesses to embrace the sporting event and consider options like hosting lunchtime screenings.<\/p>\n
\u201cMajor sporting events have a unique ability to unite workplaces and communities, and the message will get through loud and clear to the Socceroos that we are all backing them,\u201d Mr Nicolaou said in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cFew things bring Australians together like the Socceroos competing on the world stage and tomorrow is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to share in that excitement and to give the hospitality sector a much-needed boost in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage employers to consider hosting lunchtime screenings, team gatherings or flexible arrangements that allow staff to enjoy this important national moment together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Nicolaou also encouraged businesses to support the city\u2019s hospitality sector, saying venues like pubs and cafes would be \u201chelping create a fantastic atmosphere for supporters\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMajor sporting events are good for workplace culture, good for team engagement and good for local businesses. This is a chance for Sydney to come together and show its support for the green and gold,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sydney City Police Area Commander Superintendent Paul Dunstan called for businesses across Sydney to \u201cget behind\u201d the national men\u2019s soccer side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Socceroos represent the determination, resilience and fighting spirit that Australians admire, and every supporter plays a role in creating that sense of belief,\u201d Superintendent Dunstan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage workplaces, businesses and communities across Sydney to get behind the team this Friday, wear your colours with pride and show the world what Australian support looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan said Friday\u2019s game was an opportunity for the Harbour City to \u201cshowcase the energy, passion and community spirit that make our city so special\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Socceroos have given Australians plenty to be proud of and I encourage Sydneysiders and visitors alike to get out this Friday, wear their colours with pride and support the team,\u201d Mr Mangan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity to come together and celebrate our national side, while also supporting local venues across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes after Socceroo Jason Geria was asked if he had a message for Australian employers and school principals about supporting those who want to catch the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet them watch it,\u201d the defender told reporters earlier this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they could wheel some TVs into classrooms \u2026 I think they\u2019ve all got iPads anyway, so just chuck it on the iPad.<\/p>\n
\u201cBosses, if you can let your employees watch … we love the support that we\u2019ve seen so far at the fans sites around Australia and the clips of people in the living rooms or with their friends and family, wherever, at the pubs … it\u2019s been amazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, 12pm on a Friday, I mean, it doesn\u2019t get much better than that I think leading into the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fan zones will be set up at Darling Harbour\u2019s Tumbalong Park and Sydney Fish Market, with the events set to kick off at 10.30am and 11.30am respectively.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s Australia vs Paraguay clash will also be broadcast live on SBS and streamed on SBS On Demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bosses across Sydney have been urged to let their employees watch the Socceroos’ final FIFA World Cup group…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3014,79,4721,247,7060],"class_list":["post-37985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-football","tag-soccer","tag-socceroos","tag-sydney","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}