A mate of mine, and owner of www.Kickoff.com.au, Scott Weigand, has written an article on why we should get the World Cup here in Australia. I have reproduced it here as I think it is a great article and sums up pretty well why Australia should get it.
The rumours are done and dusted – Australia is officially bidding for either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Australia via the FFA and the Australian Federal Government have officially stated their intention to host what would be Asian confederations second ever world cup tournament following on from the 2002 tournament held by joint hosts Japan and South Korea.
It would also represent the only realistic opportunity for the world to knock on Oceania’s doorstep with New Zealand just a short distance away.
However, that’s the easy part. Now the war for the hearts and minds of FIFA’s 24 man executive committee takes place amongst such global heavyweights as England, Russia and the United States, not to mention the likes of Japan, Indonesia and Spain/Portugal’s joint bid.
So does Australia have a realistic chance? You bet!
True, in perhaps typical fashion we will be the underdogs but there are 10 main reasons why the world cup should be brought to our shores:
1: Australia has a proven track record in hosting major international events:
The Sydney 2000 Olympic games are still arguably the best to date, the 2003 Rugby World Cup and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games to name a few.
2: Australia is a safe and desirable destination:
Australia represents one of the safest and most desirable destinations for international travellers and the World Cup would bring record numbers of international guests particularly from locations such as England and Japan.
3: Australia’s relative wealth:
Between the Federal and state Governments and business enterprise there is no doubt of Australia’s ability to upgrade existing stadiums and develop new stadiums as well as surrounding infrastructure requirements including transport and accommodation.
4: An emerging footballing superpower:
True football is not the major sport in Australia and it is in the unique position of having to compete with 3 other football codes, however, football is seeing record numbers of growth both in a grass roots level and interest level including corporate sponsorship. The Socceroos are now a top 20 ranked country and the introduction of the A-League, National Youth League and developmental programs for players and coaches means that the next generation of Australian players have a better chance of gracing the worlds top leagues and clubs.
5: Legacy for Australian football:
The current trends of growth of football in Australia will be exponentially greater given the legacy hosting a world cup would provide for Australia. To this day, many Australian’s do not realise the sheer size and gravity of the world cup and having a world cup in Australia would capture the imagination of the youth who hopefully turn to football as a sport of choice.
6: Sporting Culture
Australia truly is one of the worlds great melting pot of sports, in the Olympics we punch well above our weight in terms of population base and are always strong in the traditional sports of rugby, cricket and netball.
7: TV exposure:
Asia, by far the worlds biggest population base and the worlds fastest growing football continent sits within a comfortable time zone for Asian TV audiences with important markets such as China and Japan able to watch games at decent timeslots.
8: Volunteer spirit:
The Sydney 2000 Olympic games clearly demonstrated that locals are only to happy to lend their valuable time and energy to assisting making major events a success both from a logistical point of view and assisting international and interstate guests.
9: Multicultural Australia:
More so that most places on earth, Australia truly is a melting pot of global cultures living in harmony regardless of race or religion. A FIFA World Cup would bring much colour and excitement to local communities who would not only support Australia but have a soft spot for their homelands.
10: A New Frontier:
Unlike several other bidding nations Australia represents a new frontier for football. Australia has never hosted the FIFA World Cup before, and Asia only once. A local world cup would grow the game not only in Australia but throughout Asia and would arguably provide a bigger impact than mature markets such as Europe. Australia is also the only continent to never have hosted a world cup finals.
Naturally, each and every bidder will push their case for why they are more deserving of hosting a world cup than Australia, but these are compelling arguments. Thankfully we have a wily, persuasive and powerful man at the wheel in Frank Lowy, a man who has built an empire from scratch and in many ways is trying to do the same for football which just a few short years ago was more or less in ruins.
Recently Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd visited FIFA President Sepp Blatter at FIFA headquaters in Zurich to push Australia’s case for hosting the world cup. Whilst this is many ways is little more than a token gesture is does demonstrate to the powers that be that Australian’s are backing the FFA’s bid right to the top.
So that leads me to my final point…
What can we do, the football punter to help maintain the interest and demonstrate we are deserving. Firstly, I would strongly encourage everyone to sign up to the Official Bidding website at: AUSTRALIA 2018-2022
Tell everyone to sign up, even “non-football” people, because a world cup would ultimately benefit all Australian’s not just through sport but it would provide a major boost to the Australian economy and improve infrastructure.
Also, get behind football wherever possible. Attend as many A-League and Socceroos matches as possible and encourage people to go. Ultimately, the more interest we maintain in the sport the better our chance to win.
With qualification in the bag we were down to our last group game for the qualification process. And it was against perhaps our biggest rival in Asia, Japan. The Blue Samurai had also qualified and some pundits were wondering whether there was anything in the match
PRIDE
I would say that the pride of both nations was on the line, for the players as well as the fans. Both managers had hard decisions to make regarding the make up of the starting teams. In the end Australia still sent out a very strong side along with some new blood and the re-emergence of Nicky Carle to the starting line up, which pleased many. Whilst Nicky had a solid game and did not do anything wrong, he also fell short of some of the hype generated by some journalists.
After going down a goal prior to half time, it took K-Town hero, “Super Tim” to level the slate and then WIN the game. I think the Blue Samurai nightmares came flooding back at this point.
FOR THE FANS
I was in the crowd on Wednesday night and had a fantastic time. Mid winter, freezing cold, mid week and a dead rubber, but the fans turned out and just shy of 70,000 people enjoyed a great night in Melbourne. The GGA organised a meet up at The Corner Hotel in Richmond and we all had a great time catching up.
Muz, a Newcastle boy and GGA Nutter came up with a great banner that was displayed at the end of the match along the fence. Says it all really.
CHANTS
Some of the chants were great. “You only sing when you’re whaling”, “10 Kamikaze’s in the air”. It is a great atmosphere in the home end at Aussie matches these days, despite the efforts of some twats to stir up interstate rivalries (perhaps the topic of another post).
For me it was just great catching up with a group of people I met in Germany and have kept in contact with ever since. For me, that is the real benefit of following the Socceroos.
Australia will be a fantastic venue for the FIFA World Cup, whether that be in 2018 or 2022. I personally think that England’s will get 2018, but we are in a great position to get 2022.
What is not to like about Australia? We have some of the best tourist destinations in the World. We have proved without a doubt that we can host the biggest events the world has to offer. And we are one of the safest destinations on the planet.
JOIN UP
So come on people, get behind our bid, join up and show your support.
Last Wednesday was party time in Sydney. It was not the best game and the crowd was fairly poor. There has been plenty written about the game itself.
Friends
The best part for me was catching up with all my fellow Socceroo fans. It is the biggest benefit for me, making so many friends with like minded people. We started at the Lowenbrau in the Rocks for some lunch. Have a go at the platter here.
We took away the leftovers in a doggy bag and had a snack on the train on our way to the match.
Last Qualifier
We are off to Melbourne on Wednesday morning for our last qualifier against Japan. This is for bragging rights as we have both qualified. Will need to look at Asian Cup Qualifications now to work out when we will next get together for a few beers and pork knuckle.
With Qatar and Qualification out of the road, the boys landed in Sydney today to prepare for our next assignment against Bahrain on Wednesday Night.
No Let Up
I don’t expect any let up from the players this Wednesday. Although we have qualified I feel we will want the psychological edge over arch rivals Japan. I certainly do as a fan. I think only injury’s will keep Pim from fielding the same side he did on Sunday morning.
Party Time
This Wednesday will give us Aussies, who could not get to Qatar, a chance to party and celebrate our Qualification for the greatest sporting event on earth. I will fly to Sydney with my wife to join in the festivities, and am looking forward to celebrating with my GGA friends.
It started out against Qatar on Feb 6, 2008 in Melbourne. We won 3-0 that night. In the early hours of this morning, we again faced Qatar in Doha this time. The 4th time during this WC campaign. We settled for a 0-0 score and with that, “QUALIFICATION” For South Africa 2010.
It was not all that pretty, and the Qatari’s certainly came out swinging. They took the fight to us and gave us the toughest match against them yet.
Nothing to do with Rod Stewart, and everything to do with the Socceroos. 1 point from this match and we are off to South Africa, guaranteed.
It brings back memories of November 16, 2005 for me. Although I will not be in Doha tonight, I will be in my lounge room at 2am tomorrow morning (after a nanna nap) to cheer the boys on. And when it happens I will more than likely wake up my household and possibly my neighbors.
Pim Verbeek
There has been much written about Pim since he took the reigns. Most people had never heard of him at first then a great deal of the media and some fans have been highly critical of the way we have played during qualification.
Facts
We are top of the group
We have 4 wins and 1 draw, zero losses
Zero goals against
We need 1 point from the next 9 on offer to qualify
It beggars belief that people could be unhappy with this. Many managers and countries would be ecstatic at this position. 4 years ago we were looking to qualify for the first time in 32 years, and only the second time in our history. I for one am extremely happy at our position, and am extremely happy with Pim as our manager.
Players Frustrated
You could hear in the players voices this week, their frustration at the Australian Media who continue to snipe at Pim and his style. They are very defensive of Pim and of how they have played thus far. It is great to see the players back their manager to the hilt. I also like how Pim backs himself and is no puppet of the media. he tells it like it is and does not back down from his style.
Technical Ability
There is no doubt that our players are capable of playing a more technical style and perhaps scoring more goals. However, Pim’s brief is to “QUALIFY” our team for the World Cup. He is 1 point away from that.
We will qualify either tonight or on Wednesday night against Bahrain in Sydney, either way, Pim has done his job.
Stage 2
His next mission will be to prepare our team to play in South Africa and get to the next round or even the Quarter Finals. How ever he does this, he has my 100% backing.
This time 4 years ago, we Aussies had already clinched the Oceania group and were eagerly watching the South American qualification group.Who would we play in November? Uruguay again? Paraguay or Columbia? It went down to the wire and history shows that we played Uruguay and showed Reccoba that his “Divine Right” was to put his head up his arse. A special night in Sydney on November 16 2005 polarised Australians like no other match in our sporting history.
Qatar, Guitar? Whatever
Next Sunday morning our time (2am), we take on Qatar in Doha. We need 1 point from this match to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa next year. That is a draw. And if we don’t get the point there we have 2 more matches in the following 10 days to gain that point, and both of them on home soil.
AFC has worked for us.
By moving out of Oceania and into the AFC, Australia now plays more games against more creditable opponents. OK, we won’t play against a top South American team for a playoff but we may find one at the World Cup.
Excitement
The excitement is building for me. I have tickets to the World Cup now so all I need is for the Socceroos to qualify. And I will watch that in the early hours of Sunday morning, June 7. I may not be at the ground this time, but you still may hear me from my lounge room when the final whistle blows.
Celebration
The following Wednesday I will be in Sydney for our match against Bahrain. It is here where I will catch up with my many Aussie mates, some of whom will be in Doha. I don’t know if it will be the same as 2005, but I intend to give it a real shot.
Just had e-mail confirmation that my ticket application is successful. It is still pending payment, but they just have to run my credit card details through. Gee I hope I gave them the right numbers.
I was so excited last night seeing the online status with a Green tick beside it. I do believe the rush I felt was better than sex.
It is now time to dive further into planning my trip. 391 days until it kicks off.
Well it is official now, NO tickets for me in Phase 1.
Phase 2 is a first in first served round which is Monday May 4th. No details on what time yet. I imagine it will be a log into the Web Site and select tickets to the games you want etc. With so many people on the site it will be very slow.
If it is anything like 2005/06 then it will be an all nighter pressing the F5 key to keep trying to get the page.
