Australians Fighting Over 2018 World Cup Final Already

April 4th, 2008 | by: Daryl |

MCG World Cup 2018 Uh-oh. This can’t be helpful. As Australia prepares its bid to host the 2018 World Cup, there’s about to be some infighting over who has the best stadium and who should be hosting the 2018 World Cup Final. The one that isn’t even in Australia yet.

It had been semi-assumed that the famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground, pictured) would host the final, but New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has come out fighting, arguing that Sydney’s ANZ Stadium is much better suited.

“What kind of signal would that send . . . to have the World Cup final at a cricket ground?” he asked. “That’s the big advantage that Homebush has over the MCG — it can be modified to better fit the round-ball game.”

Them’s fighting words of course. And fighting worlds aren’t going to help Australia’s 2018 bid all that much. After a quick look at AuStadiums.com, it seems to me that the MCG and the AMZ would both make fine venues, but I’m not sure calling football “the round-ball game” is going to win Iemma many friends at FIFA.

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http://www.spotlightsoccer.com john

Australia has no business hosting a World Cup. Soccer’s even less popular than in the United States and outside of the major cities in Australia there’s not much there. So you going to have all the games in 3 cities? Not so great…

John
http://www.spotlightsoccer.com
Keegan

In reply to that comment. You yanks suck at soccer buddy, go get Beckham, spend your millions on him, and then you still get spanked by a sub par reserve side in a league that features one of our regular national players.

Australia has this argument every single time a big event comes around, it’s nothing new. 2000 Olympics – Sydney v Melbourne, there was dodgy things going on between Australia Olympic Committee people favouring their own city, Sydney. 2006 Commonwealth Games, Melbourne v Sydney, Melbourne had the obvious advantage because Sydney had already hosted a large event recently.

Sure the MCG isn’t the greatest for a soccer game, but it’s still a 100,000 person stadium that will almost definitely fill every night of the cup, Melbourne’s a sports mad city, 30,000+ turn out to AFL games and Cricket matches regularly – and also Melbourne Victory matches (soccer) now have an average of high 20,000’s. Melbourne Storm also get good crowds with their success of late.

Compared to Sydney – a crowd of 36,526 was the largest NRL regular season attendance just this past weekend. NRL/Rugby is supposedly their sport, but they get crap all to their games, 36,000 is a dismal turnout for at least half of the AFL sides in Melbourne.

And… 3 cities? Do you know anything about anything outside of the US? Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth – then also the smaller ones, Canberra, Hobart and the Gold Coast.

Australia’s resurgence in football only started in early 2005, with the creation of a new national league and the overhaul of executives etc. Only one year later we were able to get our act together and perform at the World Cup.

Ps. that picture of the G is old, it’s been refurbished, the whole thing is the same size as the big stand now.
Alex

OWNED!