Only a lack of stadiums stands in way of Aussie World Cup bid

Roar Guru

3rd February, 2009

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The Crowd

Roar Guru

3rd February, 2009

1908 Reads

The bids have been finalised and Australia has put in its entry in for the 2018/2022 World Cup. That means Australia will be up against USA, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Indonesia, Egypt, and Mexico. England, Spain/Portugal, Russia and BENELUX.

It’s a tough ask against this group, but I’m thankful that China is not in the mix, as it would have been the real joker in the pack.

FIFA dictates that the “infrastructure and facilities in the host county must be of the highest quality”, adding that approximately twelve stadiums with minimum capacities of 40,000 would be required and that it would call on bidders to provide top quality broadcasting, information technology, transport and accommodation.

Australia must therefore be a contender for at least the 2022 World Cup, assuming Europe wins the 2018 edition. However, we need to improve the stadiums that would be used.

This is not a rugby, rugby league, or cricket World Cup, where stadiums that are available are used. The Football World Cup needs super modern, state of the art stadiums, or else we are wasting their time by bidding.

The current stadiums that meet the FIFA requirement are:
MCG – Melbourne – 100,000
Docklands Stadium – Melbourne 55,000 *
ANZ Stadium – Sydney 83,000
SFS – Sydney – 45000
Suncorp Stadium – Brisbane – 54,000

These Stadiums may need some improvement, but are generally in very good condition.

However, with Docklands Stadium being promised to the AFL for its games, it would mean Australia will need at least another six stadiums. Hopefully, FIFA would relax their policy of only allowing two stadiums in the one city.

I could see the following being used:

1. Skilled Stadium, Gold Coast Currently 27,000. Would need to be extended to 40,000.
2. Energy Australia Stadium – Newcastle – Currently 27,000. Would need a major upgrade to seat 40,000
3. Canberra Stadium, Canberra – Same as for Newcastle.
4. Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne – 31,000. Would need to be upgraded to at least 40,000.
5. Townsville, same as for Canberra and Newcastle.

The next two stadiums would have to come from Perth and Adelaide, which currently do not have any stadium that would fit in FIFA’s plans.

Perth has mentioned that they were planning to build a new multi-purpose 60,000 seat stadium, but Adelaide were planning to just upgrade Football Park, which would still be unsuitable.

So, to win the World Cup Bid, Australia needs to do plenty more on the stadium front, which will cost a lot of money. But it will be worth it. If South Africa can spend the money on such upgrades, then surely we can too.

Then the only question that will remain is, which city should host the final?

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