Super to read that today's video presentation to FIFA involved Ben Coonan. My, you've come a long way young man! Well done!
No cartoon kangaroos this time: Australasia's final pitch to FIFA
By Vince Rugari
June 25, 2020 — 7.00am
Ten years ago, Australia's final pitch to FIFA in its bid to host the 2022 Men's World Cup involved a cartoon kangaroo, a buffet of lazy stereotypes and tired tropes, and a sprinkling of celebrities with zero connection to the sport of football.
It wasn't until more than halfway through the six-minute Phillip Noyce-directed video - which has aged particularly poorly - that a ball was sighted. Even then, it felt like a distraction.
A decade on and times have certainly changed. So too has Football Federation Australia's approach to winning over a new legion of powerbrokers in Zurich, who are set to decide the destination of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
The 35 members of FIFA's council who are eligible to cast a ballot will do so in the early hours of Friday morning. A press conference is scheduled to be beamed online around the world at 2am (AEST), where the winner - either Australia's joint bid with New Zealand, or rank outsiders Colombia - will be announced.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, those behind the 'As One' bid won't be present in person but will gather at the headquarters of FFA and New Zealand Football, waiting for the news. They're quietly confident, but FIFA's recent history has conditioned football fans in this part of the world to expect the worst, because it's easier to stomach the inevitable heartbreak that way.
Most of FIFA's council will have already made up their minds, but those who haven't may yet be swayed by the trans-Tasman campaign's slick video presentation - one of the last things they'll see before they submit their votes overnight.
"The final presentation is literally our last chance to underline the credentials of a bid that promises to deliver the biggest and best FIFA Women's World Cup ever," said FFA chief executive James Johnson.
"By the time it's played to the FIFA Council, we believe we will have demonstrated just how successful the 2023 World Cup would be on these shores.
"We believe it's a compelling argument, and the final presentation aims to underline all of the positive facets of our bid."
The Herald was given an advance screening of the eight-minute clip, and the contrasts with the 'Come Play' campaign led by Frank Lowy couldn't have been more pronounced.
The very first image in the presentation - dreamed up by WiteKite's Sophie Klaas and the Australian game's favoured documentarian
Ben Coonan - is of a football pitch. It is actually about football.
Unlike last time around, there is no gaudy narrative at the centrepiece, and no late cameo from Paul Hogan. This short film is mature, understated and clear in its purpose: to hammer home the reasons why FIFA cannot possibly say no to Australia and New Zealand, one last time, and to do so in a way FIFA will understand.
The bid's key spruiking points are front and centre - the smiling faces of young players, female and male, from both sides of the Tasman, speaking in a variety of different languages to emphasise the truly diverse nature of these two countries. And the numbers - the 1.5 million expected spectators, plus the $US165.7 million in revenue this World Cup is projected to haul in.
There are direct messages from key people including the heads of both FFA and NZF, the captains of the Matildas (Sam Kerr) and Football Ferns (Ali Riley), and Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern, whose sheer presence underlines the trump card of the 'As One' push - the unyielding support of government at all levels, something the Colombian bid cannot boast.
The elephant in the room, coronavirus, is subtly addressed as a "silence" that has befallen the football world. This video shows what sort of party Australia and New Zealand hope to throw on the other side of it.
Fans are unlikely to see the clip for themselves until the decision has been made. By then, assuming FIFA's council follows the organisation's own advice, it should be a pretty fun watch.
theworldgame.sbs.com.au
