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FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, talks with Football Australia chairman Frank Lowy as they arrive at the opening ceremony for the 58th FIFA congress in Sydney, Thursday, May 29, 2008. AP Photo/Mark Baker
The FFA’s bid to host the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup reminds me of the current debate on the Emission Trading Scheme here in Australia. Both sound great in theory, but the public don’t understand the details of what it involves.
The public want to know, in simple English, what it means.
I love football, and always will, but I have been sceptical of Australia’s bid for the 2018/2022 World Cup.
I have advocated here on The Roar, once about a year ago and recently in September, that I believe that Australia is better suited to hosting the AFC Asian Cup rather than the FIFA World Cup.
I won’t go through why again, but you can read my thoughts here and here.
It seems the comments from the AFL and MCG about the lack of detail of what is actually required has struck some kind of nerve. Whilst the AFL has overreacted, the truth is that there is some merit to to their concern.
My concern about the Australian bid has been the lack of detail pertaining to the stadia situation. It has bothered me from day one. Australia lacks suitable stadia for football, rugby, and league in AFL dominated states.
I became really concerned when I received an email from the bid committee asking for help in finding the 64 training venues required.
That set off alarm bells.
The bid is doing a wonderful job of networking around the world, making the right connections, and meeting the right people. But I still can’t see how we can win the bid without knowing what stadia we will be presenting.
Have a look at the official Australian bid website.
On it you will read about how great Australia is, how great the people are, how experienced we are at hosting major events, and what tremendous sporting facilities we have. All true, no doubt.
However, there is no mention whatsoever of what cities are actually bidding and what stadia those cities are actually offering.
Or how they will be paid for if they need upgrading.
The Americans, our main competitors for 2022, on the other hand, let you know exactly what they offer in terms of stadia and I can assure you it far surpasses what we offer.
Also, the news that the MCG must now undergo some sort of rectangular configuration is, to me, an example of what the FFA don’t let the public know.
Does this imply that other oval grounds being considered would need the same type of rectangular configuration? Who knows.
And that’s the problem.
So please FFA, let us know what is happening with this bid. After all, it’s the taxpayers that are bankrolling it.
Only when the facts are out on the table can people decide if the World Cup is indeed winnable, because at the moment its certainly doesn’t look that way.
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