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Once again, Jeff Kennett – who has held a ‘position’ with a soccer body previously – has opened his trap and urged the AFL to role over for soccer should Australia ‘win’ the 2018 World Cup.
Well, firstly, no need to worry. We won’t ‘win’ them. I doubt it anyway. FIFA has scrapped the rotation policy, and I wonder why? But after 2010 in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil, 2018 will be 12 years since a European hosting of the event; 2022 would be 16 years.
Wanna make a bet that 2018 won’t see the World Cup back in the cradle of FIFA and soccer — Europe?
But if the FFA expects AFL and the NRL to make way, how about instead the FFA display just how wonderful they and their game is by:
1. Raising their own $30-40 million rather than making the tax payers pay just to apply. How hard is it to put together a powerpoint? I want a consultancy on that gig!
2. Building soccer’s own venues so as to not have to bludge off the ones that football, rugby and cricket have ‘built’ for this country over 100-150 years of loyal service.
3. Play the tournament either instead of the HAL (surely that would be a more easily moved competition that the FFA has control of) or show how mature and self confident soccer is that it has no problems about sharing a sporting landscape.
I’d love 20 million overseas visitors passing through Melbourne during the footy season and perhaps dropping in to sample Australian Football. What better way to showcase Australia, because, really, you’d hardly invite them to Australia and force them to drink Carlsberg, eat McDonalds, drive Hyundais and wear Reebok now, would you?
And yes, I’m ready for the line: ‘It’s the biggest sporting event in the world’ and ‘you’re too myopic to see’, and so on.
Actually, I’d love the biggest sporting event to come to town. I’d go, as a theatre goer. I loved when the RWC came to Melbourne, the great atmosphere of Melbourne Cup ‘extended weekend’, we had the Australia vs Ireland International Rules hybrid game, which drew 60 thousand people to the MCG.
So what has FIFA got to be afraid of if other sports continue? Because, as we know, they are the biggest show on earth.
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