The predictably parochial tabloid press aside, much of the outrage in England stemmed not from the fact Russia were awarded hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup, but rather the fact the entire voting process was clearly open to geo-political manipulation.
There are plenty of question marks about Russia’s size and history of racism, but consecutive World Cups in South Africa and Brazil suggest neither are major concerns for FIFA.
What has infuriated the English about the World Cup bidding process was the obvious lack of transparency, with FIFA ignoring its own technical report to award the tournament to a country fraught with organisational risks.
England’s own bid was hardly scandal-free, but that won’t stop those in London from advocating the establishment of a rival governing body – such is the anger felt over what many believe was the awarding of a World Cup purely for commercial reasons.
Certainly most Australians felt awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar had everything to do with the Middle-East’s vast oil reserves, and little to with an attempt to spread the so-called beautiful game throughout the volatile region.
But with our professional league barely six years old and a World Cup pedigree which spans only three tournaments, can we honestly say Australia deserves to host a World Cup?
How about we start fixing the myriad problems in the A-League first, beginning with this ludicrous fixture list?
North Queensland Fury coach Franz Straka said what many were thinking on Saturday night, after his team went down to Newcastle Jets in what was their third game in just six days.
“The question is how is this possible? You play on Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday,” Straka told AAP reporters after his team’s frustrating defeat.
And with the inquest now in full swing over our embarrassing showing in Friday’s World Cup vote, maybe we should also start questioning why Football Federation Australia signed off on such an inappropriate fixture list in the first place.
Playing midweek games is one thing – and they’re not going too well when only 1,700 fans show up – but it’s impossible to play high-quality football with such small squads and a tight turnaround in time.
Did no one at FFA realise this? Were they so blinded by the World Cup bid that common sense flew out the door when it came time to devise the A-League fixture list?
Then there’s the refereeing. It’s the oldest trick in the book to criticise officials, but there’s no point turning a blind eye to things like Brisbane Roar’s controversial late equaliser against Melbourne Victory, which arrived after Roar goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos seemingly handled the ball outside the penalty area.
We may hold little sway in the corridors of power at FIFA, but things like illogical fixture lists and constant refereeing errors are easily fixed, while the A-League’s botched expansion must also be addressed.
Our failed World Cup bid is a kick in the teeth, but the silver lining is the fact the A-League can finally receive some much-needed attention from the administrators paid good money to run it.
The time has come to reconnect with fans and former players, and start building our domestic league into the kind of competition which commands respect throughout the region and beyond.
It’s only then we should consider another World Cup bid, since it’s palpably obvious cartoon kangaroos and 80’s actors have zero influence in the real world of football politics.
TCunbeliever
Roar Guru
Well to be fair, in all the reports of stadia that were available on the internet, those we all know are used for Australian Football (like Skilled Stadium and Carrara) were said to be unused.
Football_Wunderkind
Guest
"But with our professional league barely six years old and a World Cup pedigree which spans only three tournaments, can we honestly say Australia deserves to host a World Cup?" Mike this above quoted comment is a totally pointless statement. Australia's World Cup pedigree means we do not deserve to host a World Cup? Opposed to say Qatar's World Cup pedigree? Which spans no tournaments. Plus Qatar's professional league while being 47 years old has probably already had its attendance figures surpassed by our 6 year old competition. The fact is that now Qatar has been awarded the 2022 World Cup, all statements about football pedigree and the right host a World Cup are now null and void and frankly sound stupid. FIFA has moved the goal posts and hosting a World Cup nowadays is less about football pedigree and more about geo-politics and big petro-dollars. Who is to say that in the future when food and water is scarce and food production is the 'new oil', that say Cambodia won't be awarded the FIFA World Cup. Companies now are already buying up big areas of Cambodian land due to its high rainfall and productive land. A ridiculous notion???? Ridiculous as having a World Cup in the desert in 2022??? Actually I think we should all go up to Jeff Kennett and offer him a big apology. Remember when he came up with the ridiculous notion of Victoria hosting the World Cup and everybody laughed at him? "Don't be stupid Jeff, you need 11 cities to host the World Cup. You need a bigger population than Victoria Jeff." His idea doesn't look so ridiculous now does it?
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
You make a good point about stadium upgrades, Fil. I can't imagine why FIFA would be pleased to pay for the upgrade of stadia used by other sports.
Fil
Guest
Unfortunately Lowy and Buckley put all their eggs in the world cup basket. They abondened the a-league hoping the WC would fix everything. As for the legacy, that would have gone to the AFL and NRL. Go figure, in adelaide, the legacy would have been the Adelaide Oval. Who are these people really working for. Why is it impossible to get any one that actually cares for the game. Buckley is to blame , but Lowy is also to blame as he employed him.
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Steve-----I'm surprised you didn't suggest the old Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Rugby League Club's avatar..
UK Steve
Guest
Gee, what a surprise that you're a Man Utd supporter. Should change your moniker to "Gloryhunter".
Millster
Guest
I think you are limiting the field a bit. I agree with you on about half of the roles being 'football people' (and that this is absolutely vital) but the other half are roles where - perhaps - the functional knowledge is better. e.g. I'd prefer to have a proper media person in the media role rather than a 'football person'. Remember they are a strategist not a spokesperson. Ditto Legal/Business and Commecial Ops. I agree CFO doesn't need to be a football person either. And to be honest, Bid Operations probably needs to be a major project / event person rather than someone in the sport. On the other hand I would like to see the CEO be a football person, as they are the figurehead. Someone to manage the immediate team, but also someone to connect with the fan-base and community.
Jason Cave
Guest
I think one of the positives of the failed FIFA World Cup bid was it would save us from the bunfight between Sydney and Melbourne over who was going to host the final (if the bid was successful). What the FFA and the Federal Government should've done was to wait for the right moment before putting a bid forward to host a FIFA World Cup. What I meant by that is wait for a while until when there are no bids coming from other Asian countries (ie Japan/South Korea, Qatar) for a World Cup. Australia just picked the wrong time to bid for the World Cup, when there were 2 other countries (Japan/South Korea, Qatar) who were from the Asian federation who also put in their bids for the World Cup. If Australia had waited until the bids for the 2026 (if China decides not to go for it) or 2030 World Cups began and put forward their own bid on behalf of the Asian Federation, who knows?
Cpaaa
Guest
Fuss thanks for the Vid. Im a big fan of the Duke. He is our Pele, our Maradona, a tank and David Beckham all rolled into one and just a tad better looking. Totally agree on the Foz, head and shoulders above the rest. Art number 4 is extremely important. I hear the MV fans raising their concerns many times about hatamoto and seating arrangements. Suncorp doesnt seem safe either, ive seen several people ejected or provoked by security and police...they target the rooster of the travelling fan groups before kickoff. Sadly this is not a Joke. AF i to was lucky to see Ange on the offsiders program. He really does seem to be in a great place at this stage of his life. Sitting on the offsiders couch or a plastic chair, Ange does present himself as a relaxed and confident leader. I also have thought "what next?" for Ange, but watching the way Brisbane are playing on the park, i do hope he stays with coaching Football. In particular to stay with coaching Football in Australia over the next couple of years at least.
Koops
Roar Rookie
Don't you mean 2 conflicting opinions ?, yes, of course , but in this case one is much more realsitic than the other.
Koops
Roar Rookie
Apparently supporters can be football only people as well.
Eamonn Flanagan
Guest
Ben has to go? What has he done to boost the game? Do we have money FFA funded for an A-League re-birth. If so we need one. Can the FFA fund a marquee - Yorke style in Sydney, Melbourne (2) Perth and Brisbane? Season must be longer than October to March. Are crowds any lower in this part of the season than in August - problem is to lift the crowds not shorten the season. That could be the death of the game. And we must do our utmost to keep all teams - these teams never come back so let's invest in them until they are stable, no matter how long it takes. Or else why the hell did the clowns at the FFA let them in. Interesting the FFA not only killed the Canberra bid but were unable to give any hope to the region for professional football. That speaks a lot for the vision of this mob. We got 20,000 to watch Kuwait, but FFA were not interested to build on it in any form. Even 5,000 for games between last years no-hope teams perth and Adelaide but again the FFA deemed the football region of Canberra wasn't worth growing in some form, any form Odd way to progress the game. It's about the A-League but it's also about the growth of football and this mob kicked the Canberra investors, grassroots and volunteers in the teeth over and over. Guess Ben and co feel the same way now. All that work, no reasons why they couldn't get the World Cup - when like Canberra there was never a prize on offer it seems - but keep working on your bid! Cannot trust the current administration to lead the game, grassroots, and A-League forward across the nation. How's the Western Sydney bid anyone?
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
A bit like New York, New York ... he's so good, I named him twice!! ;-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4wYEhoW9cc
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Fuss----has Viduka got a twin brother..? :)
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Cpaaa-----excellent post; Ben Buckley's contract is up shortly and I can't see any good reason to keep him on. The man may be a nice guy but he is a football illiterate and must be replaced by a person who is more of a Football intellectual.. I would definitely nominate Craig Foster for the role or Andy Harper, Kimon Taliadoros, Mark Bosnich, and Ange Postecoglou. In fact Ange is ready now to step up-----he was excellent on the ABC offsiders last Sunday answering the other commentators questions with his take on the WC Bid's failure.. He has certainly grown as a manager. I think even now he could step up as an administrator and take Ben Buckley's role with ease.. I watched him on the ABC Offsiders programme and he was head and shoulders above anyone there or whoever appears on that show with him.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
These are the current "Management Positions" within the FFA and my opinion on which positions require a qualified and credentialled football person - i.e. someone who has played professional football - preferably in Australia and abroad - and also has the requisite skills for the particular position. As far as I'm concerned, only the CEO & COO roles can also be filled by a non-football person - e.g. John O'Neill did an outstanding job as CEO of the FFA. FFA Management Structure Chief Executive Officer - need not be a football person Chief Financial Officer - need not be a football person Head of AFC Asian Cup 2015 Bid - football person only Head Of Media Relations - football person only Head of Game Development - football person only Head of Hyundai A-League – football person only Head of Legal & Business Affairs - football person only Head of Bid Operations - football person only Head of National Teams & Football Development - football person only National Technical Director - football person only Head of Women's Football - football person only & must be female Head of Commercial Operations - football person only
jimmy
Guest
AFL smells funny, there you happy?
Futbanous
Guest
Astounding really,the lack of real football people in the inner sanctum of the FFA. Says a lot to me about how quickly our stars of yesteryear have disappeared into a black hole in the past. Almost as if the governing body doesnt trust its own people to provide professional administration. All Foz has done so far is talk the talk,can he walk the walk. Maybe maybe not. Knowing the sound of the heartbeat of the game,doesnt necessarily translate into administering it successfully. But at least his voice & the others mentioned should be heard & his words heeded by Frank Lowy. No matter how clever Ben Buckley is he cannot understand the soul of football,simply because he grew up on another sport.
Art Sapphire
Guest
Cpaaa - A-League administration requires capable football people not pundits. People like Kimon Taliadoros and Francis Awaritefe for example. In regards to agenda for the next A-League season - lets start with these 4 pressing items and build from there 1) How many and which teams (I say 10 for next season) 2) Calendar and sensible fixture list ( I say late September or October to late April - early May) 3) Marketing (I say $$$) 4) Treating football fans like fans and not lemmings (I say common sense)
dasilva
Guest
"But with our professional league barely six years old and a World Cup pedigree which spans only three tournaments, can we honestly say Australia deserves to host a World Cup?" If USA, Korea and Japan won that bid then that would be relevant. However since Qatar won it then that statement is a laugh. Qatar never qualified to the world cup. The average crowds for a national league match is about 200 per game.