From Cardiff...to Adelaide

For those South Australians pre-disposed to all things claret and blue, David Lewis, the Australian fan who bought the TV rights to the play-off final Down Under "so I could see the game with a few mates" has added Adelaide to his ever-expanding list of venues.

And he's still not trying to make any money out of it!

So, if you find yourself within a few hundred miles of that fair city at the weekend, you are most welcome at PJ O'Briens, which is, would you believe, an Irish establishment that serves refreshments.

David is now pleading with Hammers fans - and other well-heeled patrons - not to besiege the manager with requests to show the game; he says he is happy to.

"So much for the networks' view that football [aka soccer in Australia] has little appeal," says David.

"The Hammers fans are proving to be just as loyal as their English cousins."

David is also now working on that hotbed of football, Canberra, and has enlisted the help of local soccer clubs.

"In Canberra we need to install new satellite equipment to enable a venue to receive our signal; we can do this in time, but I have to have numbers to justify the expense," he says.

"It is a bit of a race against the clock - but I am quietly confident."

If somewhat bleary-eyed and fast developing all manner of nervous tics.

David, you will recall, is the West Ham fan who, rather than face a trek to Cardiff without a ticket, decided, with typical Aussie ingenuity, to see if he could acquire the TV rights to the game instead.

Well, wouldn't you?

However, the whole thing has snowballed to such an extent that, er, he has all but given up the day job for the time being, as he sorts out the various logistics of being an instant TV mogul.

Just as well he is the boss of his own company, then.

To go hand in hand with his venture, or should that be mis-adventure, (he thinks he has his own home but he just can't remember where it is!)  David is organising the auction of a signed West Ham shirt for charity.

If you are interested in bidding, the sale is on eBay - and the money raised will be donated to the Bobby Moore UK Fund for Cancer Research and the Australian Melanoma Foundation.

For a synopsis about the charity and how they spend monies raised please go to http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/bmf.

For information on the Melanoma Foundation please see http://www.medicine.usyd.edu.au/melanoma/page2.html

The Auction has begun and fans may bid at:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4133771286

Further details:

Adelaide Venue

PJ O'BRIENS IRISH PUB

14 East Tce Adelaide 5000

Tel: (08) 8232 5111

Fax: (08) 8232 5065

Sydney Tickets

Sydney has exploded - well, not literally, obviously - and David will organise additional venues if, as is now expected, the current venues sell out.

David informs us that, sadly, the Sydney Opera House is currently unavailable.

He has also announced the availability of the DLA web site booking page for the Aussie Rules Club ONLY to assist them to understand the level of demand in Sydney.

"We are working on more venues for both Sydney and Melbourne and expect that we can do this if needed," he says. Tickets for Aussie Rules Club, Sydney, may be purchased at:

The DLA Group web site at http://www.dlagroup.com.au - enter the site and follow the WHU logo links.

Venue Information

All venue information is now on both The DLA Group web site at:

http://www.dlagroup.com.au and the Setanta web site

http://www.setanta.com.au

Canberra fans should order tickets on the DLA web site, include their Canberra address and payment details and David will instruct his staff to hold these orders pending sufficient demand.

However, David sincerely apologises that there will be no link-up to Wollongong...