Mr Lowy, Thank you for all you have done for football in Australia, for the personal effort you put into our 2022 bid, and the undoubted time and effort you spent on it at the expense of time with family, loved ones or managing your other interests.
Thank you for firing the imaginations of football fans in Australia (and some non-football supporters) so that we could imagine what hosting a World Cup could be like.
Thank you for the way in which you have behaved in the aftermath of FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, and the way you have acted as an advocate for Australian football on the world stage.
Thank you for realising that all the wailing and gnashing of teeth won’t change the decision handed down and for focusing on the future.
Thank you for realising that the heat of the moment is often the worst time to draw conclusions and make important decisions and that often lessons are best learnt after a time of meditation and reflection.
I hope that you will continue your passionate support of football in the future as you have in the past.
I hope that you will help lead the effort to maintain the momentum that started with the Crawford Report to ensure that the game continues to grow.
I hope that under your guidance, the junior levels of our game are properly acknowledged as the future of football in Australia and that they must be nurtured and managed to ensure that their maximum potential is realised.
I hope that the women’s game in Australia receives the recognition it deserves and the resources it requires to ensure that it goes from strength to strength.
I hope that the A-League continues its development under your leadership and that sustainable gains are made in the years to come to ensure the domestic future of the world game.
After the decision you said, “Australia, what can I say? I can only say that I am bitterly disappointed – disappointed for you that we couldn’t deliver the 2022 World Cup.”
Australia may not be hosting the 2022 World Cup, but out of this process what I can say to you is thank you.
Thank you, Mr Lowy.
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