Australia ready to submit bid to host World Cup
Australia's bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup is ready for submission with the Bid Book complete and to be handed to FIFA on Friday.
Final agreements between Football Federation Australia (FFA) and rival sporting codes were signed over the weekend, completing the requirements from FIFA to have the support of the other major sporting bodies.
"We have the unified support of the nation behind our bid and we are ready to host the biggest sporting event in the world,'' FFA Chairman Frank Lowy said. "This is great news for football and great news for the whole country as everyone will benefit if we win the right to host a FIFA World Cup.''
FFA chief executive Ben Buckley is confident Australia has a compelling case for consideration of either the 2018 or 2022 event.
"We are a safe pair of hands and have the experience, stability and certainty to hold such a major event,'' Buckley said. "The host cities and stadia we are using in our bid will showcase Australia to the rest of the world and combined with our sports loving culture and the friendliest volunteers in the world it will be a fantastic FIFA World Cup.''
Andrew Demetriou, the boss of Australian Football League - the body which governs Australian rules football - also threw his support behind the bid.
"We have consistently supported Australia's bid for the World Cup as we have with other major sporting events,'' he said. "We know it will cause serious dislocation of our AFL season, including up to 90 games that will need to be relocated and/or rescheduled, but we also accept that all codes need to make accommodations to ensure major events come to Australia.''
Under a Memorandum Of Understanding signed on Sunday, the AFL agreed to give up the use of the MCG, Perth's Subiaco Oval, Geelong's Skilled Stadium, Gold Coast Stadium and the Adelaide Oval for 10 weeks if Australia's bid was successful.
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