It’s the world game for a reason, and Shepparton is about to show why.

The third edition of the Shepparton Nations Cup will see more players, more teams, and more energy at McEwen Reserve as the football showcase kicks off on Thursday, January 8, with 10 nations vying for a $6,000 prize purse across two weeks of play.

But more importantly, it’s set to be another show of Shepparton’s love of the game and its proud multicultural side, according to organiser Abbas Al-Najar.

“We really want to show Shepparton how good it can get here for football and the multicultural community,” Al-Najar said.

“We have got almost 220 participating, and this year is one of the best we’ll have in terms of quality of players because we’re opening it a bit more to non-local players.

“We’re getting a lot of international quality players and high-end league players to come in, which is making it good.

“The quality of football this year is going to be very high, and it’s only going to get higher when the tournament grows.”

It will be wall-to-wall action from January 8-25, with the opening fixture between Iraq and Türkiye on Thursday evening at 8pm set to be a monumental tournament opener on McEwen Reserve’s main pitch.

The group games will then be held on the back pitches until finals begin on January 19, with the grand final on the 25th taking place at 7.30pm.

The tournament has also seen the addition of two new country’s - Kuwait and Macedonia have been added to the competition.

“It only gets bigger and bigger every year,” Al-Najar said.

“Compared to the first year, it’s doubled if not tripled in growth.

“We do have some prize money this year, which raises the stakes a bit higher.”

Australia faces reigning champions Afghanistan on Friday, January 9, while Italy and Nepal do battle in the first Saturday game in a curtain-raiser to the Congo vs Albania clash at 8pm.

Macedonia makes its debut against Iraq on Sunday, while Kuwait opens its campaign against Australia later that evening.

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