Australia set to prepare bid for FIFA World Cup

Officials are planning a bid for the men’s soccer World Cup - the most popular single sporting event on the planet.

The FIFA World Cup is the most popular single sporting event on the planet. Picture: AFP

Sports and government officials are formulating plans to bid for the men’s soccer World Cup, part of a strategy to bring a string of major events to Australia before and after the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

The bid would be for the 2030 or 2034 World Cup, with discussions taking place a ­decade after Australia’s ill-fated pursuit of the 2022 World Cup under then Football ­Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy.

Kylian Mbappe celebrates with the World Cup Trophy after France’s 2018 win. Picture: Getty Images

That bid was funded with about $46m of taxpayer funds, but officials believe a future bid has enough distance from the December 2010 decision that saw world governing body FIFA award the 2022 event to Qatar in a controversial ­process that ended with Australia receiving just a single vote.

The men’s World Cup is considered the most popular sports event in the world and Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said a bid would be a natural step after a successful joint hosting in two years of the 2023 women’s World Cup with New Zealand.

“We’ll host a great compe­tition in 2023 – we’re going to wrap a legacy around it for the game, but we’ve got to squeeze more juice out of this and it could be a stepping stone with a successful delivery of that ­toward more FIFA competitions,” Mr Johnson said.

“And there’s a trend. Look at Canada, which hosted the women’s World Cup in 2015 and 11 years later they’re going to host the men’s World Cup with the US (and Mexico). Look at Brazil – they hosted the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics in 2016.”

James Johnson. Picture: Christian Gilles

Mr Johnson said he believed the 2030 men’s World Cup was more likely to be awarded to ­Europe or South America, given next year’s competition was in Qatar, part of the Asian Football Confederation, and the 2026 event in North ­America.

Asian countries, including Australia and the likes of China and Saudi Arabia, would be in contention for 2034, two years after the Brisbane ­Olympics and 11 years after the women’s World Cup. ­Preliminary discussions between FA and state-based major events officials have ­already taken place, with former Sydney 2000 Olympics bid chief Rod McGeoch, now a director of Destination NSW, confirming he was working on garnering support to launch an official bid.

“I have started (working on a possible bid) for 2030 … I feel we have got to start,” Mr McGeoch said.

“We are quietly working away and with the women’s World Cup in 2023, that is a big opportunity for us (as) FIFA will have an office in (Sydney).”

Rod McGeoch. Picture: Chris Pavlich

The planning comes as FA moves to capitalise on the 2023 event and the rising popularity of the Matildas, who smashed television ratings during their recent run to the semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics.

Mr Johnson said FA would seek extra government funding for soccer infrastructure for junior and amateur levels, with a boom in participation numbers forecast in the lead-up to and after 2023.

FA has also doubled its revenue in the past year, having signed a new naming rights sponsorship deal with Commonwealth Bank for the Matildas and a new broadcast contract with the Ten Network.

Mr Johnson, a former FIFA official, played down suggestions there might still be ill feeling from Australia’s last men’s World Cup bid, which included accusations of ­attempted vote buying and huge fees paid to ­European consultants.

“It is a different FIFA now,” he said. “You have to make sure you put the best bid in and make sure you’re the best ­advocate. We probably have more clout now than we’ve had in a long time.”