Australia's bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup

[midfielder]

FFC

we get FTA free .. I assume Online subscriptions will cost money ... could be an issue..

Also I recall reading that Telstra with their ownership of Fox have a massive online library that can be streamed ...

I also wrote once some time back that if the phone companies purchased the streaming platforms they could offer you sports packages with your phone service ...


I would not write off Telstra or Optus at this stage ... also there must be some reason both James Packer & Kerry Stokes want a share of Foxs.


I don't disagree that online maybe the plathform but all plathforms will need content... it will be interesting to see who controls what content ....

 

[FFC Mariner]

They dont want you to have FTA for free. Thats the whole point.

 

[Arabmariner]

They dont want you to have FTA for free. Thats the whole point.

Or FTA will just have all the shit......which it's well on the way to achieving now imo.

I don't watch a huge amount of telly but what I do watch tends to be on Fox.

 

[midfielder]

Kevin 07 talks to Jack Warner from Football Australia.

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem_new&id=31032

Kevin Rudd to Jack Warner: Australias bid is strongSaturday, 28 November 2009
by FFA
Englands Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took time away from their busy CHOGM schedules to meet with FIFA Vice President Jack Warner in Trinidad today, to discuss the 2018 World Cup bid.

Both countries will be presenting bids to the FIFA Executive Committee to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.

A decision on the host country for the tournaments will be taken in December 2010.

Earlier this morning Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, less than an hour after arriving in Trinidad, held a meeting with FIFA Vice President Jack Warner at the residence of the Australian Ambassador in Cascade.

During discussions Warner inquired from Prime Minister Rudd about the development of the football in Australia.

Prime Minister Rudd responded from Strength to strength, he went on to add that FIFA must look at ways to expand the world globally and it is in this regard Australia may hold the key.

We must look at innovative ways to grow the game and what better way to do it that in a region which is exploding

Warner told the PM that the World Cup bid isnt only about figures, but it is about a host nations social responsibility, its commitment to the world.

To that comment the charismatic leader responded Australia is looking to expand its diplomatic footprint in the globe and we are using sport as a mechanism to do this.

And it seems as though the Australian movement is serious about its commitment, Prime Minister Rudd explained that the country intends to expand the number of scholarships, including football scholarships being offered by the government globally

Prime Minster Rudd went on to expand on a number of initiatives his government has implemented in his country using sport as a mechanism to trigger social transformation.

Warner commended the Australian Prime Minister on his commitment to the 2018 bid.

Mr. Prime Minister, I am impressed by your commitment and involvement in this process.

Australia has successfully hosted a number of international sporting events including the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Its track record prompted Warner to say Your country has demonstrated your ability to host World Class events in the past.

PM Rudd thanked Warner for his compliment saying We have a strong bid and it will only get stronger

Last week Warner told international media that Australia had a good chance of wining the bid.

 

[midfielder]

They dont want you to have FTA for free. Thats the whole point.

Who is THEY ... the online providers or the big content holders ... for the past two years we had had free online TV via ... http://www.tv-links.cc/ ... not new shows but most shows and movies.

 

[FFC Mariner]

TV is all about content. Content is king. If you own content, you have FTA pants pulled down and they know it.

You think Packer sold Ch9 because he didnt know this? You think Canwest have been hawking their stake in Ch10 around for kicks? You think Stokes is madly trying to build up a pay tv play because he is bored?

The one person who doesnt matter in the reshaping of the TV landscape is the poor bastard sitting in front of the screen

 

[Arabmariner]

Warner's just another corrupt,lying Fifa tosser.......take everything said with a pinch of salt because he's saying exactly the same and more to the opposition.

In fact he bagged the English bid then when faced with the PM he said all the nicey nicey things.

Tosser.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8383459.stm

 

[FFC Mariner]

Didnt Warner get done (and let off) for flogging WC tickets that had been allocated to his federation?

Man is a scumbag

 

[Arabmariner]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_%22Jack%22_Warner#Corruption

 

[Forum Phoenix]

After Australia hosts the world cup, football in this country will be unstoppably on its way to becoming the pre eminent sport in the country.

And long may it reign.

Like it did 94, in the country with similar traditional sporting demographics to Australia?
In all honesty FF, do you believe an event that runs for as month would dramatically alter, if at all, the 100 plus years of sporting traditions...

Yes. I do. Though I see the WC as being more of a flagship/tipping point as opposed to a singular dramatic event that will effect mass change all in of itself. As I said... "On its way"

I also do not discount your points. I think they are very valid, and highlight why the process is generational and not instantaneous in it's evolution...

I have three main reason for my confidence/belief... None of which require the conversion of existing AFL supporters, or "fickle fans" though I do in fairness know a lot of people who now follow both AFL or League, and now also the A league - and who never would have dreamed they would ever be paying to watch a "soccer" match 10 years ago.

My reasonings are as follows.

Firstly; The children. The numbers of kids playing football and growing up regularly experiencing football culture/professional games is extremely significant. And so promises a VERY different demographic in 12 years time when/if we are most likely to be hosting our first world cup. Imo the changes of general attitude toward the round ball game in youth circles and schools over the last 20 years has been immense. Where ever I go, I see considerable evidence of this generational change.

Secondly: The Australian population - already touted for its multi culturalism, is certainly not getting any more anglo. I  believe as midfielder says, that is self evident that our future is tied with Asia and Football being the world game, will therefore very likely be the sport of choice for the bulk of of our expanding population. Again it's generational.

Thirdly. The powerfully international nature of "soccer" was glimpsed at the last world cup by many Australians, it is completely unrivaled by the other codes... and it is throughly intoxicating. To experience this personally, in our country, will undoubtedly help change/open some hearts and certainly will inspire more passion from existing fans regardless of Australia's result. But most importantly it will in my belief cement the global excitement and magic of what is truly the world game, into the hearts of the most important people in the battle of the codes... the aforementioned children.

Will the domestic league profit as a result? Undoubtedly in my opinion.

 

[dibo]

This scumbag couldn't piss straight.

'This is England's time for World Cup,' says Jack Warner in about-turn

'It was the best case I have heard in a long time'
Warner says his previous comments were constructive

    * guardian.co.uk, Saturday 28 November 2009 12.09 GMT

The Fifa powerbroker Jack Warner has been convinced that "this is England's time" for the World Cup after meeting the prime minister Gordon Brown.

The prime minister spoke to Warner in Trinidad yesterday where Brown has travelled for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting. Afterwards, Warner, who only last month criticised the England 2018 World Cup bid as "lightweight" and returned a gift of a designer handbag in fury, completed a virtual about-turn in his view of the bid.

Warner, the president of the Concacaf federation which controls three of the 24 Fifa executive committee votes, said: "It was an exceptionally good meeting it was the best case I have heard for a long time about the World Cup being in England.

"I was very impressed by his humility, his sincerity, his knowledge of the game, and most importantly he didn't feel England had any divine right. He felt that England's time had come a point to which I subscribed.

"He said, and I agreed with him, that England has the best infrastructure to stage the tournament and that after a 52-year gap this is England's time."

Warner's comments last month sparked a crisis among England's bid leadership with internal arguments culminating in a reshuffle of the board. There was further turmoil earlier this week when the Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards resigned his position on the board.

Warner added: "I was saddened when I heard that because I thought he was a tremendous asset that the FA needed."

The Fifa vice-president said his remarks last month had intended to help bid leaders see where they were going wrong. If he had any further concerns about the campaign he would raise them directly with Downing Street, he said.

"The prime minister was able to take some the comments I made and promised to look into them. He was not thin-skinned at all. I was attempting to be constructive and I am sorry if people thought I was being destructive. But I was looking at the bigger picture and the bid seems to have new energy and impetus.

"I met the prime minister today and next week I will meet David Beckham in Cape Town. These are not for my ego, but they are the assets that the bid should be using and I am happy to see that they are being used."

 

[midfielder]

Dibo

What honest Jack ...

 

[midfielder]

No Worries Mate ..

The No Worries World Cup...

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/australia-to-push-no-worries-world-cup-20091201-k20i.html

Australia to push 'no worries' World CupDecember 1, 2009 - 10:39AM

Australia will offer to host a "no worries" FIFA World Cup as it goes head to head with its nine rivals for the first time in its bid for the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.

One year out from the decision on host countries for those sporting extravaganzas, Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy, chief executive Ben Buckley and Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis head a lobby group to present Australia's case at a Bidding Nations Media Expo in Cape Town on Friday.

The presentation will be done just hours before the 2010 World Cup draw is conducted, revealing the Socceroos group opponents at next year's tournament in South Africa.

Lowy and Buckley are already in Cape Town along with Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek, FFA officials and eight children who won state and territory competitions to serve as bid "emissaries".

The Media Expo is the first of three significant opportunities for the 10 bidders representing 11 countries will get to present their case to the international football community.

And Buckley was confident the FFA had a bid that would give it a strong chance.

"We offer a 'no worries' World Cup which is also fun, relaxed, safe and secure, a great destination and provides a warm welcome," Buckley said.

"With one year to go, it's time to step up our efforts from now and throughout 2010 until D-day.

"FIFA has set a level playing field by giving each of us guidelines to adhere to, but we believe Australia's credentials and our emissaries representing the young people of Australia will help set us apart and position us strongly.

"It's a high quality, competitive field that we're in, but we are very encouraged by the feedback on our work to date.

"Our work and our efforts over the next 12 months will increase in 2010 and be even more targeted to make sure we bring the FIFA World Cup home to Australia in 2018 or 2022."

 

[midfielder]

Nicole Kidman to promote the bid in SA.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/its-becks-v-nic-20091201-k3we.html

The English have Becks and now Australia has Our Nic. Football Federation Australia has unveiled its own star turn, actress Nicole Kidman, as the bidding war for the World Cup heats up.

While the football glitterati who have begun to assemble in South Africa are focusing on Friday's long-awaited draw for next year's tournament, for the 10 bidders for the 2018 and/or 2022 World Cups it's a prime opportunity to promote their cause. And the FFA has leapt out of the blocks by unveiling its glossy 16-page ''Credentials Book'' accompanied by a five-minute promotional film presented by Kidman.

The Hollywood star will become the face of the bid, much like England are using David Beckham's global appeal to promote their 2018 cause. While ''Becks'' is tipped to turn up in Cape Town in time for Friday's Media Expo, Kidman has been unable to attend, but the ''soccer mum'' - whose children play the game in Nashville - will be making personal appearances during the lead-up to FIFA's decision on hosting rights at the end of next year.

In the meantime, Kidman will promote the bid - initially at least - through the short film, which had its first restricted release at a cocktail reception for Australia's South African High Commissioner, Ann Harrap, hosted by the FFA last night. The film will be publicly released to the football world at the Expo.

The film, and the ''Credentials Book'', focuses on Australia's proven track record of hosting major international sporting events, highlights the massive progress made since Frank Lowy took charge, emphasises the multi-culturalism of the Australian game, the effort being made to promote indigenous football, promotes Australia's membership of the world's fastest growing football region, Asia, and - curiously - finishes on the plea that bringing the tournament to Australia would also be a bridge to Oceania, the only confederation within FIFA never to have hosted a World Cup.

Describing Australia as a ''safe pair of hands'', Kidman delivers her punchline, describing a tournament in Australia as ''The No Worries World Cup''.

Regarded as rank outsiders for 2018 but a genuine chance for 2022, the FFA remains quietly confident of its chances for either tournament, and a large team of officials and board members has flown to South Africa to continue building a network of contacts. Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek is also in town, and will today make a flying visit to Johannesburg to unveil the team's base camp for next year's tournament.

But it's Lowy who remains Australia's powerful figurehead, and yesterday the FFA chairman was invited to the Tygerberg Children's Hospital as the guest of the hospital's patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Also in the FFA delegation were the eight children from around Australia who won the recent ''Come Write! Come Play!'' competition and will help promote the bid this week as ''emissaries''. At the time of going to press, there were suggestions FIFA president Sepp Blatter would be a late starter for the hospital visit - further underlining Lowy's growing political influence.

Federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis is due to arrive on Wednesday and apart from a school visit will also participate in the Media Expo for bidding nations.

''The Media Expo is the first time all 10 bidders will be in the one room overtly presenting their bids,'' FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said. ''FIFA has set a level playing field by giving each of us guidelines to adhere to. But we believe Australia's credentials and our emissaries representing the young people of Australia will help set us apart and position us strongly. It's a high quality, competitive field that we're in, but we are very encouraged by the feedback to date.''

The most significant deadline for the bidding process so far, however, won't come in Cape Town this week. Instead it will be on December 11, when all bidding nations must present a binding ''Bid Agreement'' to FIFA. That agreement must include government guarantees of both financial and technical support, and despite the recent posturing by rival codes about the disruption a World Cup in Australia might cause, it is believed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has managed to pull the various recalcitrant state governments into line.

 

[midfielder]

Good on Obie Wan.... having a dance with Desmond Tutu and then getting him to help Australia in their WC Bid ...

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem_new&id=31094

Lowy and Buckley meet Tutu
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
by FFA


Frank Lowy Football Federation Australia (FFA) Chairman, Frank Lowy AC, and CEO, Ben Buckley met today with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at Tygerberg Childrens Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa as part of an initiative to contribute to humanitarian causes in the African continent.

Lowy presented Archbishop Tutu with a cheque for 1 million South African Rand (approximately $150,000) to support the work of the hospital of which Archbishop Tutu and his wife are Patrons.

Africa has given football some of the worlds best players over the years and this is a gesture that also recognises Africas contribution to our game, said Lowy.

It must be our legacy and it is Australias long-standing policy to help where help is most needed.

Archbishop Tutu has fought for justice for decades and it is an honour and a privilege for me to offer a comparatively small contribution to his fight for a better life for those who are the most vulnerable in the world: children of all creed, ethnicities and walks of life, he said.

Lowy said that, in cooperation with the Australian Government, AusAID and the Australian corporate sector, the contribution to Tygerberg Childrens Hospital was the beginning of an in Australian initiative to help build a better future for vulnerable children in Africa.

We are determined to grow todays initiative into a substantial and ongoing programme to help improve childrens health, education and social outcomes and assist in the development of those who live in underprivileged conditions throughout the African continent, Lowy said.

Lowy and Buckley were also accompanied by eight children from around Australia. The eight all play football and were on hand to meet with children at the hospital.

 

[midfielder]

We owe a lot to Obiw Wan .. I agree.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/to-be-frank-there-would-be-no-world-cup-bid-without-this-man-20091203-k8wu.html

To be Frank, there would be no World Cup bid without this man
MICHAEL COCKERILL
December 5, 2009

Frank Lowy has some pulling power. One minute he's shaking his hips with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in front of some very sick kids at a Cape Town hospital. Next he's convinced Franz Beckenbauer to come straight from the airport and poke his nose in at a cocktail reception hosted by Football Federation Australia at its six-star hotel. Not only that, he's got ''Der Kaiser'' saying some nice things about Australia's bid for the World Cup.

Beckenbauer is a member of the 24-man FIFA executive which at the end of next year will decide who gets the World Cups of 2018 and 2022. He wasn't the only executive member in the room. Half of FIFA's eight vice-presidents were there as well. The boss of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohammad Bin Hammam, also put in an appearance. FIFA president Sepp Blatter sent his apologies, having been confined to bed with a stomach bug. Even without him, there was a lot of clout in the room. And to a man, the deference they showed the man driving Australia's bid was genuine.

''I've known Frank for a long time,'' Beckenbauer told a spellbound audience. ''I can only say to you Frank, good luck.''

In the corner of the room, Jack Warner was offering more than his best wishes. The president of North/Central America has a dubious reputation, but what's not in doubt is that he has his finger on the pulse of the mood in FIFA's inner sanctum. That mood, he reckons, is swinging towards Australia. Maybe not so much for 2018, but definitely for the 2022 tournament.

''Australia is speaking a great game,'' he said. ''One year ago, Australia was not even on the radar. One year later, Australia can sit and look at themselves as competitive as Spain, or anyone else. Keep doing what you're doing, because you seem to have your head on your shoulders. If any country has a plan, Australia has a plan.''

Lowy is the man masterminding that plan, at every turn. It's more than a challenge. It's an obsession. He's already changed the game beyond recognition since being put into power by John Howard's government six years ago. Now he's got the ear of Howard's successor, Kevin Rudd. That's quite a balancing act, but there's no time for self-aggrandising. For a man fuelled by a relentless sense of ambition it's all about results.

A World Cup in Australia will be his legacy. At 79, he can't be sure he will live to see it. The chance of that happening is better in 2018 than 2022. Which raises another question. Succession planning. Lowy's boots will be too big to fill when he's gone, but typical of the man, he's already got his antennae working.

In the meantime, he's sure intending to stick around to find out what FIFA decides in Zurich on December 2, 2010. Which means he continues to set a cracking pace.

''You know I'm a busy man, but I like to achieve,'' he says. ''If I didn't believe we could achieve what we want to achieve, I wouldn't do it. It doesn't mean we will win for certain, but we have a very good chance.''

The odds will continue to shorten as long as Lowy is in the driving seat. His minions are doing a power of legwork, but the dynamic which counts only comes when Lowy enters the room.

FIFA is often regarded as more machiavellian than the United Nations, but somehow Lowy is finding a way through the minefield. What would football in Australia do without him? Dream the impossible dream. It's Lowy who turns those dreams into reality.

 

[midfielder]

Canberra behind the bid..

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/canberra-behind-world-cup-bid-20091204-kb0g.html

Canberra behind World Cup bidDecember 5, 2009
FEDERAL Sports Minister Kate Ellis insists world governing body FIFA will be left in no doubt about the Government's support for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids when Football Federation Australia submits its technical guarantees in Zurich next week.

Visiting South Africa as part of the FFA's charm offensive, Ellis made it clear recent opposition at both state government level and from rival sports would not impact on the crucial bid agreement, which must be handed to FIFA on Friday.

''We've said all along there will be challenges,'' Ellis said. ''It is a big ask, it's the biggest sporting event on the planet. So there are issues to work through. We want to work a path through, and I think we're doing that effectively. We're as confident as one can be at this point.''

Michael Cockerill

 

[midfielder]

Must be the day smh putting up lots of good stuff today. We are even firming HMmmmm...

I also like DAN SILKSTONE as a reporter he writes some good stuff ... Silkstone & Cockerill make normally good reading at smh.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/from-bold-upstarts-to-a-dinkum-chance-buckley-has-hosting-rivals-right-on-edge-20091204-kb0i.html

From bold upstarts to a dinkum chance, Buckley has hosting rivals right on edge
DAN SILKSTONE
December 5, 2009

From bold upstarts to a dinkum chance, Buckley has hosting rivals right on edgeDAN SILKSTONE
December 5, 2009

THE company helping put together Australia's World Cup bid is known as Abold. It is a fair description, also, of the nation's approach. More than a year since the announcement that it would bid for the biggest show in world sport, Australia finds itself in a position few expected: very much in the game.

Now the hard work starts. This past week in South Africa, the 11 nations bidding for two World Cups have gathered to press their case. Australia, in among it, has been welcomed by the world's media and football's top dignitaries as a frontrunner.

It is some turnaround.

''All the signs are that our activities are being warmly received, very positively received,'' Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley told the Herald. ''Twelve months ago Australia was probably not on the radar, now we are firmly in contention.''

Yesterday, the Team Australia roadshow rolled on in Cape Town, spruiking at an international media expo. Schoolchildren were flown in as ambassadors, chairman Frank Lowy was out in full billionaire force. Next to him stood Sports Minister Kate Ellis. Earlier in the morning the pair had sat in a private meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Together they handed out the DVD presentation starring Nicole Kidman and a credentials book outlining Australia's strengths, all while pressing the now-ubiquitous message first revealed in the Herald almost a year ago: ''The no worries World Cup.''

Australia was among the first to officially declare its bid and the first to launch. It was first to create a slick, interactive website and first to unveil a glamorous promotional film. In many ways it has been the most professional, best resourced and best organised bid.

All of this has worked. The Australian bid's official Facebook page has almost 120,000 ''friends'' - three times as many as the England's equivalent. Type ''World Cup 2018-2022'' into Google and the official Australian website appears as the top response. It is not by accident.

Suddenly the question being asked is: Could Australia be favourites? Offering odds of 3-2, London's bookmakers would have you believe so. It's not a tag that the bid team is eager to claim.

''It really is too early to say,'' Buckley said. ''There are still 12 months to go, it is an extraordinarily competitive field and as we know with the recent Olympic decision the bookmakers don't always get it right. Still it is good to know we are making a mark and if the bookies reflect a degree of favouritism, it can't hurt.''

FIFA delegates who once considered the bid a near-novelty have pronounced themselves stunned this week at Australia's progress. ''You can sense a difference now in the other bidders,'' Ellis said. ''They are wary of us, they are taking us seriously.''

While other bids have assembled dream teams of egos, big names and just as big fall-outs, Australia has kept its bid team small, drawn almost entirely from within the ranks of the FFA and helmed by Buckley. It has snapped up the best available consultants: Abold, the German firm responsible for preparing the winning ''bid books'' for Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010 was signed up to an exclusive deal. Peter Hargitay - a man with legendary connections to FIFA's elite - was snaffled after he fell out with England's bid organisers.

Still, much is up in the air. If the past week or so's frantic lobbying has proved anything it is that anyone who wants to feel better about themselves should drop in on Jack Warner. Variously he has met with Kevin Rudd, British PM Gordon Brown and senior members of the US bid. Variously he has lavished all three bids with praise.

Each pronouncement has been breathlessly reported, for Warner has a reputation for behind-closed-doors dealmaking and his support could prove crucial. UEFA heavyweight Franz Beckenbauer, who backs a European bid - probably England- for 2018, also said very nice things about Australia for 2022.

Can these people be believed?

''I think all of them are genuine,'' Buckley said. ''You've got to remember that there are two World Cups on offer. More than one bidding nation is going to be successful here we take guidance from those comments, it means we are making an impact.''

 

[Saffron]

AFL may have to cancel season if Australia wins FIFA World Cup finals bid


    December 07, 2009

The AFL may be forced to cancel its premiership season if Australia wins the right to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup finals, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says.

    "You can't just move the season to January: it's out of the (television) ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work." Andrew Demetriou The AFL chief executive has issued scary-sounding quotes but nevertheless believes "wiser heads will prevail".

The AFL will find it impossible to schedule a viable season if FIFA, football's world governing body, can claim exclusive access to Australia's biggest stadium - the 100,000-capacity MCG - for four months, Demetriou said.

The World Cup finals last only four-and-a-half weeks in June and July, but Demetriou said the AFL had learned that the MCG could be decommissioned for four months while it was refitted for football.

"The World Cup starts ... in June and there's four or five weeks of securitising it, putting signage up," Demetriou said.

"They would commence work in late March or early April, and that would probably mean we'd just have to cancel the season because that would mean we wouldn't have the MCG for 16 weeks.

"We could probably do without it for 10 weeks and we'd have to play at Etihad Stadium.

"But we couldn't do it (for 16 weeks).

"We'd have to cancel the season.

"You can't just move the season to January: it's out of the (television) ratings period, you've got cricket, it's hot, it just doesn't work.

"We've even toyed with the possibility of suspending the season for four weeks because that's what we originally thought was going to happen.

"And that could work. It's not easy, but it could work.

"We're trying to find ways to accommodate (Football Federation Australia) ... but we haven't had much come back the other way."

Demetriou said the AFL had a history of working constructively alongside major sporting events in Australia, citing the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The 2000 AFL season began a month early, allowing it to finish in August ahead of the Sydney Games in September.

"Cancelling a season is a disaster," Demetriou said.

"It affects revenue - we've got broadcast agreements, we've got agreements with members, we've got agreements with corporate partners.

"The cost is a monumental cost, and I'm talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Secondly, it would probably mean that some clubs who rely on the $7.5-8 million (annual) distribution from the AFL - there's no way they could be sustained because they haven't got that money coming in.

"  ... it (puts clubs at risk), it would mean a lot of jobs at risk, it would mean the severing of some agreements.

"But I don't think it's going to get to that, I think wiser heads will prevail.

"It's not just us, I'm sure the NRL are in the same boat, and the ARU with their Super 15 season.

"This (would be) the first World Cup where four football codes have ever been staged in the one country."

England is favoured to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals, but Australia's bid for the 2022 competition continues to gain momentum.

FIFA will vote on the host nations for both tournaments in December 2010.






Look at the maths involved. If the World Cup starts in June, and the ground is needed 5 weeks earlier, that is late April, NOT late March as Demtriou points out.

 

[Saffron]

And the FFA's response:


FFA CEO Ben Buckley says a World Cup in Australia wouldn't force AFL out


    December 07, 2009

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley has moved to ease concerns that hosting the 2018 or 2022 World Cups could force the cancellation of an AFL season.

Buckley rejected AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou's claim that football's governing body FIFA could claim exclusive access to the 100,000 capacity MCG for four months.

Demetriou said earlier on Monday that such a situation could make it impossible to schedule a viable AFL season.

But Buckley insisted that the MCG would not need to be out of action for much longer than eight weeks.

"We need to get access four weeks before the competition for preparation for pitches and preparation for overlay that are required by FIFA and the duration of the tournament," Buckley said on Monday.

"In our estimation, that is six to eight weeks depending on where the finals are played."

The decision on which country will host the respective 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be made next December.

Buckley said the FFA had provided the AFL with information that the longest a venue could be locked up for would be eight weeks.

The FFA had also had discussions with FIFA last week regarding other football codes in Australia continuing their competition during the World Cup.

Buckley, who was Demetriou's No.2 at the AFL before taking over the top job at the FFA, said he understood the needs of the other codes.

"I am confident there is goodwill and all the other codes understand there is substantial benefits to Australia as a nation to host a great World Cup," he said.