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Contrary to what you might read this week, it won’t be a disaster if Australia doesn’t win the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
Gasp… shock… horror… I know.
Yes, more than $45 million of tax-payers money would’ve been wasted, but that’s hardly the first time that has happened. The thing to keep in mind this week is not if Australia will win the right to host a FIFA World Cup, but when.
It would be a minor miracle if Football Australia Chairman Frank Lowy and CEO Ben Buckley pulled this off. That’s not to say that Australia doesn’t deserve the tournament.
Lowy and Buckley have navigated FIFA’s corridors of power with the skill and precision of a David Beckham free kick (the type he normally delivers, not the one he hit on Saturday night against the Jets).
They’ve won many friends and shown the most powerful men in football that Australia now respects “the world game” and has left “soccer” behind.
A safe, fun and profitable World Cup plan has been put forward and FIFA is impressed. But will it be enough? We’ll find out just after 2am eastern daylight time on Friday morning.
But what if we don’t experience an Olympic style “and the winner is… Sydney moment”?
There’ll be a feeling of resentment and anger. That’s only natural. FIFA came and told us how beautiful we were, that they liked us and thought we were smart and funny. Now they’ll possibly dump us.
We’ll sit in our room for a while and listen to the mix-tape they gave us and even shed a tear or two, but then we’ll start to feel better. It’s true that this is an important week for the game in Australia, but it isn’t the be all and end all.
Hosting a World Cup would go a long way to making football the number one sport in Australia. The interest and financial benefits would be huge and the game would never be the same.
But if the 2022 World Cup goes to one of our rivals then the A-League won’t die, the Socceroos will still gather in camp and you’ll still be able to find kids playing football in the park.
Perspective is the key this week. This is the first World Cup Australia has been in the running for, but should we lose, hopefully FFA and the Federal Government can muster up the courage to go again.
It won’t be a popular move with some, but it is the right move. Australia might not win this one, but the country will host a World Cup one day.
It’s inevitable.
You can follow Luke on twitter @luke_doherty and on Sky News Australia.
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