CENTRAL Coast Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson has endorsed Australia's bid to host the World Cup and helped unveiled a special one-off Come Play! shirt for this weekend's match.
The one-off shirts for the game against Gold Coast United reflect the "imagery of Australia's World Cup bid', according to the FFA.
They will all be signed by the players and auctioned for the club's chosen charity, Central Coast Community Chest, charity after the conclusion of Round 24.
"We are ready to host a FIFA World Cup in Australia, it's a very safe country and above all would be a great place to visit," said Wilkinson.
"Do your part for Australia, this Australia Day weekend - support Australia's Bid and come along to Bluetongue Stadium on Friday night to support not only the Mariners, but also the Hyundai A-League and the World Cup bid.
"The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world - and it would be amazing to host it in Australia, for all Australians."
Each match this weekend will also be played with a Come Play branded match ball. One match ball from each game will be signed by both captains and auctioned for charity, with proceeds donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
"As we lead into Australia Day on 26 January 2010, we are very pleased that this weekend each of the Hyundai A-League clubs will proudly show their support for Australia's Bid by wearing one-off Come Play! shirts," said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.
"It is now less than 11 months until FIFA decide which countries will host World Cups in 2018 and 2022. So we have between now and then to show FIFA how passionate we are about hosting a World Cup in Australia. Support of the Hyundai A-League clubs and their fans is crucial to our success."
Also launched today is a Come Play supporter jersey for kids.
The new green and gold shirt is similar to the shirt presented to Archbishop Desmond Tutu leading into the FIFA World Cup draw announcement in South Africa last year. The shirt is available exclusively online at www.australia2018-2022.com.au/store.
As for the match against Gold Coast, Andrew Clark, and striker Adam Kwasnik, will become the fourth and fifth players to notch 100 competitive matches for the Yellow and Navy, should they feature at some point during the clash.
"You don't set these sort of milestones or play for that reason but if they come along it's really nice," said Clark.
"You just aim to front up every day, do the best job you can and these things come along the way, so its great to be here.
"There's been a couple of great moments and they've always been centred around Bluetongue. I've been there when we've pretty much filled the stadium in big games, the final against Newcastle when we came back from 2-0 down.
"It's just brilliant when you walk out there and it's almost full, and dominated by yellow and blue."
Kwasnik's milestone could have been reached even earlier, if not for a season spent with Wellington Phoenix in 2008/09.
"It's a great honour. I love the club, and to be honest I shouldn't have left, but I did, and I'm happy to be back. It's great to play with this bunch of boys, and to bring up the 100, it's a great honour," he said.
"There's a lot of unfinished business. There's still that desired Grand Final win, and at the moment we're a long way from that but hopefully in years to come we can achieve it as a team, and as a club."
The pair, both good friends off the field, have paid tribute to each other on the eve of their potential joint milestone.
"If it wasn't for Clarky my fitness levels would be right down in the dumps, and credit to him as well, he's into his 30's but he's playing like a 21 year old. He's a super fit guy, a super player, and a great mate as well," said Kwasnik.
Clark added: "I've played with Kwas for a long time now, I suppose to play 100 games for a single club is a good thing, and I hope there is more to come."
While the pair will enjoy the occasion should they take part in Friday's clash, of more importance is the result, Clark admitting three points is crucial against Gold Coast United, to ensure the club remains a contender for a fourth playoffs appearance in five seasons.
"We definitely need to win two, maybe three games to make the finals. There's still a massive chance to make the finals, so all we need to worry about is this Friday, and the rest will happen," said Clark.
But Kwasnik is only too aware of the danger Smeltz, Culina and friends pose.
"They're in pretty hot form at the moment but we've just got to worry about ourselves," added Kwasnik. "As a club, we like it when our backs are up against the wall and we're going to go out there and give it our best shot, regardless of what anyone says
"We're just going to enjoy it, these are the types of games you want to be a part of, and hopefully we can get the three points in front of our home crowd."
Melbourne Victory have just released the first image of their shirt for this week's games...
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