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Australia Ready `in All Aspects' to Stage World Cup, FIFA Inspectors Say
Australia is fully capable of hosting the World Cup, according to a team of inspectors sent to the country by soccer’s governing body FIFA.
The six-member delegation analyzed Australia’s bid to host sports’ most-watched event in 2022 in a three-day trip that included meetings with new Prime Minister Julia Gillard and visits to the potential host cities.
“After checking the bid book presentation on site, we must conclude that this country seems to be prepared in all the aspects to organize the World Cup in 2022,” Head of Delegation Harold Mayne-Nicholls said in a statement.
His comments were tempered by remarks from Mohamed Bin Hammam, the head of the Asian Football Confederation, that he’ll give his vote to his native Qatar. Australia comes under the Asian confederation.
“I have one vote ... and frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar,” Bin Hammam said at a football forum in Singapore today. He said he would vote for another Asian country if Qatar is not in the running.
Australia, Japan, South Korea and Qatar are bidding to bring the World Cup back to Asia for the first time since 2002. They face competition from the U.S., which hosted the event in 1994. Australia pulled out of the race for 2018 last month, saying FIFA preferred European hosts for that tournament.
The inspectors are touring the world visiting bidders for the 2018 and 2022 events. Prior to arriving in Australia they inspected sites in South Korea and Japan.
Decision in December
The next stop is on Aug. 9, when the team arrives in the Netherlands and Belgium. They are joint bidders, along with England, the U.S., Russia and Spain/Portugal for the 2018 World Cup. While those countries are also bidding on 2022, it’s expected the 2018 edition will be held in Europe, and the 2022 event in Asia or the U.S.
FIFA’s 24-member executive will decide on where both tournaments are staged on Dec. 2. Record five-time champion Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup.
Australia’s government is contributing A$45.6 million ($40.8 million) toward the World Cup bid, which proposes playing matches in 10 cities. New stadiums will be built in Perth, Canberra and western Sydney and nine others upgraded, providing an A$2.8 billion infrastructure legacy.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net
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