Less than a year before our opening match in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, many are wondering who our opponents for the opening match – assuming it is a pre-season friendly – should be.
A precedent was set in 2010 when the Club agreed to play our namesake from Chile after a decade of lobbying from the Ruleteros Society. With ownership still to be decided, however, there is a possibility that a repeat of supporter preference may not be possible. If John Textor takes over, he may well prefer Lyon, Botafogo, or even Molenbeek.
Suppose, however, we supporters could still influence the Club on the choice of opposition, who would we choose?
I must confess that I would love to see Everton Chile return, along with representatives from the other Everton clubs in Argentina and Uruguay, allowing us to celebrate this unique circumstance of having so many Clubs, all with more than a century of history behind them, bearing the name Everton.
I am conscious, however, that this choice may not be universal, and it would be interesting to gauge what alternatives are out there and how popular they are.
One obvious upside to playing our namesake, however, is that there’s bound to be an Everton winner.