Archived Media Release

28 February 2008

Australia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Bid

Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said the Indonesian sporting public would also stand to benefit if Australia succeeded in its planned bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

“Australians, as lovers of sport, welcomed with great enthusiasm Prime Minister Rudd’s announcement this week that the Government would formally support a Football Federation of Australia (FFA) bid to host the 2018 World Cup,” Farmer said.

“But the bid should also generate significant interest in Indonesia and other countries in the region, as I am sure football supporters throughout South-East Asia would love to see the world’s premier sporting tournament on their doorstep,” he said.

“Many fans across the region would be able to travel to Australia to watch matches, while others would be able to enjoy games on television during prime viewing times, as we saw when South Korea and Japan hosted the tournament in 2002.”

Prime Minister Rudd, underlying his support for the bid, said he would include the issue on the agenda for next month’s meeting of Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments, as it would need the backing of all levels of government.

“Winning the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup is a Herculean task, but overcoming tough odds is what Australian Football does best,” Mr Rudd said.

“Australia has a reputation of excellence - on and off the field. The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, 2003 Rugby World Cup and the 2006 Commonwealth Games have shown the world that Australia is a nation that delivers the world’s best events.”

Mr Rudd said the Government was “keen to see Australia’s bid kick off as soon as possible”, given that the host country for the 2018 FIFA World Cup was likely to be announced in 2011. FFA representatives would meet senior Australian Government officials in the next week to begin planning the bid.

The FIFA World Cup is the world’s largest sporting event. The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany attracted 3.35 million spectators, including 2 million visitors from overseas.

The event was broadcast to 214 countries and watched by a cumulative TV audience of more than 26 billion people.

Prime Minister Rudd said venues such as the MCG and Telstra Dome in Melbourne, ANZ Stadium and Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and the recently announced new stadium for Perth could host matches.

“Soccer in Australia has 450,000 registered participants and has never been more popular,” Ambassador Farmer said.

“A bid to host the 2018 World Cup is a natural follow on from the strong performance of the Socceroos at the 2006 World Cup and the success of the revamped Australian domestic competition, the A League,” the Ambassador said.

FIFA’s member associations each get one vote in determining the successful bid.

Further information:
John Williams (Counsellor, Public Affairs), mob 0812 1053 989