SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Australia plans to bid to host the 2014 World Cup of soccer, two state leaders said Saturday. The bid is being led by the state governments of New South Wales and Victoria, whose respective premiers, Bob Carr and Steve Bracks, are expected to announce Australia's candidacy to host the Cup on Sunday. FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who is in Australia on a brief stopover in Australia following an Oceania Football Confederation meeting in New Zealand, is scheduled to join Carr for the formal announcement of the bid at the Sydney Opera House. Carr said Sydney's performance as host of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 showed Australia's capacity to host international sporting events. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/2002/08/03/australia_2014_ap/
Never thought I'd feel this animated about who hosts the WC. I've never known a country be so hell bent on automatic qualification. We should all take a leaf out of the Grange Hill anti-drugs song, and just say no!
I'm saying for quite a while that Australia is one of the next countries that should host a WC. At the 2000 Olympics they proved to be great hosts, the country is perfect - now they just got to prove to have/build 10 to 12 WC-capable stadiums. I think that they'll get it if they apply.
So do I my friend however unless the economic situation down there improves a lot (and of course its 12 years away), I can't see any country hosting it. Resulting in what I fear might happen. A world cup in the arse end of nowhere, given to a country with very very little history (football). I've ranted about this before on other threads (I do feel damn strongly about this!), so I won't repeat myself too much. Just to say that just because the Olympics was a success there doesn't mean the WC would necessarily be (note I am not saying it would be a complete and utter disaster). Australia's representation at the Olympics was and is strong, the Oz public's love affair with football is tiny. It's always bad when the host nation goes out, the thing is I really can't see them progressing (and I'm confident of that even 12 years previous). It's just a bad idea for the World Cup, and now I've got myself all wound up so I'm going to have a little lie down.
Meet Canada. However, if you think about it, was the USA cast in the same light for 1994? If Australia has qualified for 2002 or even 1998, these comments may not be apt. Australia is really not that bad of a team. The Round of 16 or the QFs is not out of their realm.
The national team down here is actually very well supported when they play. I have no reason to beleive that a world cup here wouldn't be a great success. Australia weren't in the world cup this time (Ok not since 1974) and the TV ratings were very high. As for your comments on the world cup not being given to a country with a hisory in the game, would you prefer to exclude all nations from playing the game who don't currently have a history as you put it.
As I've stated before in another thread, I think Australia is a good choice of exactly the same reasons that USA was a good choice for 1994. I don't say it would be the best choice for 2014 (personally I prefere South America), but it wouldn't be unreasonable. So, go for it, Aussies!
Helt klart. Det är Sydamerikas tur efter Afrika! (funny to see a swede on the board! ) If Africa gets the WC in 2010 (which I don't mind) then South America must be given the WC in 2014. South America holds 9 WC titles (one more than Europe) but hasn't arranged a WC since 1978. In fact South America has only arranged 4 WC:s in total. Brazil should be a good candidate since have the necessary stadiums.
I'm not against any nation playing the sport, I'm just against any nation hosting it's premier event. And particularly using that in order to obtain a valuable WC spot. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the WC if hosted in Australia would be a success in TV terms. After all with the sheer amount of hype and marketing surrounding the event now, no location would be a total failure in that respect. The largest TV market for football is Europe, matches will be in the truly anti-social hours of the day. Is that a good financial consideration? I find it quite sorry when there's a WC match not filled with supporters. I appreciate that there will be more popular teams than others, but I fear that this will exacerbated by the sheer distance from the majority of the footballing world. Japan and Korea (if there) would probably well represented but its a huge way to go for the majority of the world. It might result in a WC with even less soul than this last one.
I'm very sceptical regarding a WC in Africa, but Blatter will probably determine it that way. In South America I don't see any possible country as no stadium has WC standard and the financial possibilities are simply not existing. Australia, Canada and China could be realistic choices for the next 3 cups.
Australia seek host role for New Zealand in World Cup bid SYDNEY, Aug 4 (AFP) -- New Zealand could host preliminary round matches should Australia succeed in its bid to stage the 2014 football World Cup, Oceania Football Confederation president Basil Scarsella said here Sunday. Australian football and political officials on Sunday launched a bid to host the 2014 World Cup finals, inspired by the success of this year's tournament in South Korea and Japan. Scarsella, elected as OFC president in Auckland on Saturday, said there was scope for Australia's trans-Tasman neighbour New Zealand to be involved in the bid before governing body FIFA. "The Australian government and Soccer Australia I'm sure will talk to New Zealand when they are looking at possible venues," Scarsella said. "There's no question there's some scope. At this stage it is an Australian bid but it needs development." He said with Sunday's official announcement by the New South Wales and Victorian state governments, the Oceania region was now in an even better position to claim an automatic qualifying spot for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. http://www.dailysoccer.com/article.php?Article=1193
FIFA chief calls for Soccer Australia to get its act together SYDNEY, Aug 4 (AFP) -- FIFA President Sepp Blatter tempered Australia's enthusiasm in its bid for the 2014 World Cup by calling on the factionalised Soccer Australia (SA) to get its house in order. Blatter was in this part of the world for Saturday's Oceania Confederation meeting in New Zealand and Sunday's official announcement here for Australia's bid for the 2014 Cup. Blatter said Australia's push for the World Cup hosting rights was "a realisitic initiative", but SA needed stability and continuity to further enhance the bid process. SA has an unwanted record as the most crisis-prone sporting organisation in Australia and is bedevilled by financial troubles and the failure of the national team to get past New Zealand and qualify for the 2003 Confederations Cup. Blatter, speaking at the announcement of Australia's intention to vie for the 2014 World Cup, encouraged the Australian government to be heavily involved with the bid and said SA should not chop and change its personnel if things weren't going well. "We have a lot of confidence and trust (in) Australian soccer," Blatter said. "Australian soccer has organised for FIFA, already, two world youth championships in 1981 and in 1993 and they have organised together with the Olympics two competitions, the men's tournament and the women's tournament in http://www.dailysoccer.com/article.php?Article=1194
It is all just a publicity stunt. The bid was announced by the Premiers of New South Wales and Victoria before the Soccer Australia board knew about it. It is just beacuase there are state elections coming up.
Australia, 2014 no, 2018 sí Australia anunció hoy que no estará lista para organizar el Mundial de Fútbol de 2014 y, pese a que faltan algunos años para la cita mundialista, postergó su candidatura para el año 2018. "Necesitamos primero resolver nuestros problemas, si es que queremos tomarlo en serio", admitió el titular de la Federación Australiana de Fútbol, Nick Greiner. http://www.colombia.com/futbol/noticias/DetalleNoticia12804.asp