It was the draw most Bradford City fans had been dreaming of.

When FIFA president Sepp Blatter pulled out ball number eight while making the Worthington Cup third round draw on Saturday lunchtime the cheers could be heard all around Bradford.

Blatter had paired City with Leeds United for the clubs' first competitive meeting in more than eight seasons.

The draw for Bantams' fans could only have been bettered if it was their name that had come out first during the draw at Preston's Deepdale ground.

However the game is sure to create a lot of interest in West Yorkshire. The League Cup, under whatever guise, appears to have lost some of its appeal for football fans in recent years.

This is true with regards City and Leeds as any other side. Last season, United were watched by just 15,069 when they slipped to a disappointing 3-2 defeat at home to Reading in the fourth round.

City's clash with Huddersfield Town in the first round, meanwhile, saw only 8,065 at Valley Parade - less than half the number who turned up for the two sides' league meeting in December.

It is clear that in an age where watching football can be a costly business, thousands of fans choose to vote with their feet and stay away in the early rounds.

However despite this lukewarm response to the competition, I fully expect the tie at Elland Road later this month to capture the fans' imagination.

City will, no doubt, quickly sell out whatever allocation they receive from Leeds with fans keen to see their side put one over their illustrious neighbours.

The only doubt as to what attendance will turn up on the night is whether the game is sufficiently attractive for the Leeds fans to turn out.

In the mid to late 1980s when both clubs were in the old Second Division, a big crowd would have been anticipated for any tie between such close rivals.

Such was the attraction of these derby games that the 'full house' signs going up when the sides met at Elland Road in the three seasons which preceded City's relegation and United's promotion in May 1990.

The biggest gate came on New Year's Day, 1988, when more than 36,000 packed into the ground and the gates were closed more than an hour before kick-off.

After decades when Leeds were several divisions above their near neighbours, all of a sudden they were level pegging and as a result a fierce rivalry developed.

Nowadays Leeds look to Manchester United as their true rivals but it has been clear to me since Saturday just how keen both sets of fans are to see the derby clash.

And that is why I fully expect a 30,000 plus crowd for what promises to be one of the ties of the round in the Worthington Cup.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.