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Was it the Kangaroos fault? You’re kidding yourself if you think Skippy had anything to do with the demise of Australia’s World Cup bid. Australia’s fate wasn’t sealed in the presentation room, but in the back rooms lining FIFA’s corridors of power.
Before the presentation, FIFA President Sepp Blatter told each bidder that the organisations’ headquarters was their home. Just before 3am (aedt) yesterday I bet it felt like anything but. I’m guessing they felt like the ultimate outsiders.
Australia’s 30-minute presentation divided opinion, but you have to question whether it was worth putting on a show at all?
Lobbying is all that matters and no tourist style video can match the negotiating skills of some of the most powerful men in sport and perhaps the world.
Plain and simple we were out-lobbied, out-dealed and out-done it seems by every one of our rivals.
To think we only have one ally in the whole of the football world is scary. Alliances were broken. Ben Buckley’s face said it all.
Standing outside the Zurich Convention Centre, it became all too clear to the CEO of Football Australia that two years of hard work were for nothing.
He said the Australian delegation was under the impression they had significantly more support than they received.
Allies may have been listening but they weren’t really paying attention.
It’s a problem we face as part of the Asian Confederation where the weight of Mohammed Bin Hammam’s connections within the Executive Committee was always going to be a problem.
The Qatari is seen as the next FIFA president. It’s hard to say no to someone like that.
Bidding against three of our other Asian rivals also didn’t help as we didn’t have the full weight of the confederation behind us like we’d originally hoped.
As part of Oceania it may have been possible for an Australian to rise to the Presidency and earn a place on the powerful Executive Committee. As part of Asia that will be a tough ask.
Not having a permanent voice within the Exco proved damaging in this case. On the other side, Australian football needs the AFC to help the national side and the A-League. It’s clear FIFA missed a huge opportunity to grow the game in Australia by not awarding us the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
The impact, as resentment and frustration grows, remains to be seen.
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