As a “true-blue” Aussie and lover of football, there is nothing more I would love to see than Australia winning the right to host a World Cup. If I was a betting man, I’d definitely splash some cash on Australia hosting the World Cup… one day. Just not in 2022.
Whilst Frank Lowy and many football followers here in Australia remain optimistic, I have to say I am not.
I feel the 2022 World Cup will go to the USA, for many valid reasons.
First of all, everyone talks of the wonderful event that was the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the incredible job we did at hosting those games. I can remember vividly the buzz that existed around the city for those few weeks back in 2000, and I have no doubt that a World Cup would be even better.
Problem is, what no one is willing to talk about is what a failure the Sydney Olympics was in terms of television ratings.
The 2000 Games were the lowest ratings games in North America, with a significant drop also in Europe from previous Olympics.
I know, the time difference is something we can do nothing about and it’s simply a result of our geography, but even so TV ratings and advertising exposure are a significant part in the decision making. FIFA charge ridiculous sums for advertisers to align themselves with the World Cup, and in exchange advertisers get “exclusive” rights as well as access to billions of viewers.
US television station NBC lost millions after securing the rights to Sydney 2000, with viewers failing to rise for the 2am, 3am and 5am start times – not to mention the cost of sending and accommodating hundreds of staff to cover the Games for the duration.
The 2011 rugby World Cup is being held in this part of the world in New Zealand, where games are scheduled to kick-off at 9pm local time to cater for the northern hemisphere audiences, given the ratings failings of previous sports sojourns, such as 2003 rugby World Cup and Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Another reason why the 2022 World Cup will go to the USA is the sheer economic power it has over Australia.
Global powerhouses like Coca Cola, MasterCard and McDonalds are housed in the United States and are all official FIFA sponsors.
The United States provides a bigger economy, broader market and vast population well in excess of Australia’s. For commercial partners, the USA makes a hell of a lot more sense.
In football terms, the USA is a developing market and a market that FIFA are determined to win, such was the reasons given as to why the USA was handed the rights to the 1994 World Cup, and the battle is still not assured of victory.
Football/soccer in America has seen significant growth in recent years and MLS crowds and viewers are on the rise.
Soccer has been given more media coverage and mainstream attention following the arrivals of David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Freddy Ljundberg, Juan Pablo Angel and Rafael Marquez.
The 2010 World Cup was the highest rating World Cup of all-time in North America, with ESPN shelling big bucks to secure the rights.
Team USA have shown great promise in recent years and their current crop of talent is hailed as their “golden generation”, following strong results in the last two World Cups.
In Australia, the A-League has seen a significant drop in crowds, as well as several clubs on the verge of folding. The Socceroos most recent home international against Paraguay, only managed to attract a crowd of 26,000, even with a full strength line-up against World Cup finalists.
It was only a few years ago that the NSL and Soccer Australia both folded, amid vast amounts of debt, and whilst tremendous progress has been made since this time, it does not exactly fill FIFA powerbrokers with confidence when deciding to give Australia the World Cup.
The Australian bid has not gone without its negative publicity, largely generated due to the conflict with the AFL regarding access to stadiums.
Australia will have to commit millions of dollars in building new stadiums and developing existing stadiums simply to get to the minimum criteria that FIFA sets in a World Cup.
The United States will not have to lift a finger in this regard. The USA is awash with countless World Class stadiums, purpose built for football, with several NFL stadiums averaging over 70,000 capacity as well as smaller boutique MLS stadiums.
The USA has done it all before, hosting a well received tournament in 1994. The USA has already got the infrastructure in place, they have the stadiums, and they have the economic capacity and the biggest marketplace in the world.
With the USA economy currently struggling for confidence, FIFA can expect President Obama to provide larger economic commitments than other countries are capable, given his desperation to secure the tournament to boost confidence in the economy and his political campaign.
Other countries up for the tournament include Japan and South Korea, who both previously co hosted in 2002. Both loom as dark horses and each have significant economic capabilities, however I feel as though FIFA feels more water should go under the bridge before it is the Asian powers turn again.
The other bidder is that of Qatar.
There is no secret to the billions and billions of dollars that Qatar has. However, there are a number of negatives that I feel blight the Qatar bid’s hopes.
The climate is also a big issue with temperatures soaring in the June/July period, and whilst the Qataris are promising underground and air conditioned stadiums, you still have to factor in the comfort of spectators.
Furthermore, Qatar is a Muslim-state where the consumption of alcohol banned in public. This ensures that any Qatar World Cup would not come along with the party atmosphere that accompanied that of 2006 in Germany and 2010 in South Africa, and seemingly every World Cup before them.
This will also mean FIFA will do without lucrative alcohol sponsorship that tips millions into the coffers each four years through the likes of Heineken and Budweiser.
The ability for women to attend games in Qatar is also a question that requires answering, given it is currently not possible for them to do so. Another question is also the attire expected of women during the event. Any Qatar World Cup shouldn’t expect to see supporters like the Paraguayan female fan who caught so much attention earlier this year.
The Qatar bid does have one supporter, however, in Asian confederation boss in Mohammad Bin-Hamann. This causes significant concern for Australia, with Asia’s bid committed to Qatar through Bin-Hamann being a Qatari, and he has also come out and trumpeted Qatar’s bid to high placed FIFA executives.
If Australia cannot even convince their own confederation then they are right for the World Cup, then how are they expected to sway the many other FIFA committee voters?
Australia will one day host a World Cup, and I hope to be around to see it.
However in 2022, all roads lead to the USA!
Oliver Herold
Guest
During the last world cup FRANZ BECKENBAUER made a statement on german tv, saying that england should host the WC in 2018 and Australia in 2022. He will definetely vote for Oz.
Patrick
Guest
You do realize that Australia's winter climate is similar to that of a summer in England, it is one of the most pleasant temperatures to play sport at. You don't need to stay extremely rugged up in an Australian winter, and you also dont sweat heaps because it isnt super hot. Also, Australia is a tropical nation, we experience our wet season in summer, not winter, so the World Cup would not be very wet. The majority of football players are based in Europe, and if they can play regular seasons through times when temperatures are below freezing, and play World Cups in European summer when it is hotter, I am sure they will be perfectly fine playing in Australian winter.
AndrewMc
Roar Rookie
If you want to find that Thompson is the England ex-co member, you can do that on the FIFA website... For someone who hangs around on all the American 'soccer' websites, I thought you would have been a bit more informed njndirish
Derby County FC
Guest
njindirish One of the conditions of USA geting the '94 WC was that they started a Prof/nationwide league. But even that started later than propossed.
sydboz
Guest
yeah I recogn this adam guy is a total traitor and a half and the story is total rubbish as well, which angers everyone so much
AndrewMc
Roar Rookie
Genau ;)
Chris K
Guest
Not sure how much this is factored into the decision making if at all, But I think us Aussies have the whole supporting the underdog mentality. The public would come out in force to get their hands on any tickets regardless of who is playing. Teams like Honduras or Slovakia would get a sizable amount of people to their games compared to what they got in South Africa and the majority of people while supporting the Socceroos would also adopt a second team. I say this based on my experiences from the 2003 Rugby world cup, where atmosphere at the Georgia vs Uruguay was great. Would this happen in USA or Qatar?
Whites
Guest
Games between "name" teams had many empty seats in South Africa. Even group of 16 games had empty sections in the stadiums.
Whites
Guest
You shouldn't use cities, plural. All games will be in 1 "city".
RedOrDead
Guest
If New Zealand will have Rugby World Cup matches kicking off at 9pm to get more international viewers, doesn't that mean it's 7pm in Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne (AEST)? Don't we already have 7pm kick-offs right now? The A-League even sees Perth Glory kicking off at 7pm (Perth time), which makes it 9pm Melbourne/Sydney time...I wouldn't complain about that :-) The biggest losers would be New Zealand, but they have a population of 4+ million as opposed to the 4+ billion FIFA would be hoping to reach! It's very doable! On another note - I woke up at 2am and 4am to catch games in the 2010 FIFA WC - If you are a patriot and/or a football fan, wherever you are in the world, you won't mind losing some sleep for the biggest event the world can host...every four years :-)
sydboz
Guest
it's rubbish, blatter has smooched with everyone, Australia, Qatar, South Korea, USA, England, Russia etc etc, the list goes on. He only has one vote, he doesn't decide anything unless it's a tie. South Korea's world cup bid is a joke, I mean they're pretending they are going to develop football by copying something England has done for many years now, it's a total farce. They couldn't even play games in other than a neutral territory but somehow they can sort out hosting a world cup together lol. What a joke.
MVDave
Guest
The only other country capable to hold it in Asia, other than the current bidders, is China. They wont because of the huge level of problems (corruption etc) endemic in their domestic comp. Therefore 2022 is Asia's best shot for some time to come. No doubt you'll be cheering for the Aussie's to get 2022 Black Diamonds?
Al
Guest
Tell me about it. I study in the U.S and whenever I tell Americans about Qatar I have to draw a map of the world to show them where Qatar is and sometimes what the Eastern hemisphere looks like. I also have to deal with alot of terrorism related question. For example when I tell them that Qatar is in the middle East I sometimes get "Oh Qatar is that where the bombings are", or the best one is "Do they teach you how to operate fire arms in primary school" I'm not kidding!!!
Al
Guest
The team bidding for Qatar 2022 and the Emir came out and publicly stated that no one will be denied entrance to the country based on their nationality.
Black Diamonds
Guest
Hang on MV Dave, won't the situation be more pronounced in favour of Asia for the 2026 World Cup? Surely if Asia is growing, it makes sense to hold the World Cup in the USA first before then taking it to the growing Asia, doing it the other way around means you a relatively smaller Asian host then a relatively smaller American host! Surely that would point to 2022 - USA, 2026 - Asia.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
What about when the players are training - are all those training facilities also indoors and air-conditioned? What about when supporters are not in the stadium - when they're walking to the ground, or simply walking around the cities? Or, is Qatar expecting all fans to to stay in their hotel rooms for 20-22 hours of the day? Wow ... what a lot of fun that will be - I can't wait. In 2006, I attended the WC in Germany - all 31 days - and went to 4 matches in the stadium. The rest of the time I was outdoors, enjoying the wonderful hospitality, sights and culture of German society. Many football fans travel to a FIFA WC and never go to the stadium - they simply go to soak in the atmosphere of the WC. What are you going to do about the outdoor FanFests that are now an integral part of the WC Festival? I have no worries about Qatar in winter, when they host the 2011 Asian Cup - indeed, I'm hoping to go. Medical authorities and sports scientists will be horrified if anyone held a sports tournament in Qatar in summer and FIFA, quite frankly, would be negligent to allow such potential harm to players, officials and supporters.
Ben
Guest
I can't see how the world cup could reunite Korea, South Korea are wary of reunification due to the impending financial crisis that millions of refugees from the North would bring for starters, not mentioning the cost associated with bringing the North out of what is essentially a pre-industrial, 3rd world state. The social cost of rehabilitating millions of people indoctrinated for decades under the juche could also take generations. Reunification isn't just going to happen because of a world cup, at best it could be the catalyst for a very long and drawn out process and that's being generous to how much impact a world cup could really have on starting reunification.
MMM
Guest
Yeah .. it's too hot in Qatar, too hot for you. Pun, get it? -.-
MMM
Guest
Interesting facts, but I wanna mention one thing regarding the climate. Qatar's average summer peak temperature is 41-42'c while temperatures in American cities chosen to host the 2022 WC, such as Phoenix and Denver, are much hotter with phoenix usually hitting 48'c. So the comparison is a little too unjust to Qatar especially after the technical progress achieved that guarantees temperatures in the field around 18-19'c and highest point of the stadium around 25'c. Not to mention the ground cooling for tourist locations outside the stadiums.
Chuq
Roar Pro
I'm guessing your first name isn't really Andrew and your surname doesn't really start with Mc then? :P