Brisbane and Melbourne Dates for FIFA's Australia 2022 Bid Inspectors

(WFI) FIFA’s inspection of Australia’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup continued today with visits to Brisbane and Melbourne.

The six-man delegation, led by Chilean Football Federation President Harold Mayne-Nicholls, were shown around the Brisbane Stadium by Queensland Minister for Sport Phil Reeves and through an exhibition of host city displays from the state. These include Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville.

The delegation also watched a training session by Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar A-League, W-league and National Youth League players.

Brisbane Roar captain Matt McKay said it was a privilege to be involved in showcasing Australia’s bid.

“A FIFA World Cup is bigger than the Olympics and it would be fantastic to have one played here in Australia,” McKay said.

“It would see an enormous boost to our sporting infrastructure and the feeling a World Cup would create would be enormous.”

The delegation also met Elsie Kellond-Knight and Matilda Brooke Spence, who recently starred in Australia’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup win in China.

"The focus it would bring to football in this country would see the see the game continue to grow and it would be great for the men's game but also women's football and for the youth leagues as well," said Kellond-Knight.

The delegation later headed south to Victoria, where they were taken to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Victorian Premier John Brumby welcomed the delegation and showed them a host city display of Melbourne and Geelong and images of the proposed Geelong Stadium.

Players from the new A-League franchise Melbourne Heart were joined by around 500 schoolchildren for a demonstration of “Australia's junior football depth and enthusiasm.”

"It was an awesome display with all of those girls and boys playing football and I think the FIFA guys were really impressed ," said Socceroo and Melbourne Heart defender Michael Beauchamp.

"They asked us what the atmosphere was like at the MCG with a big crowd and a few questions like that and we told them it was one of the world's great stadiums.

"If we got a FIFA World Cup in Australia it would be sensational as Australians love sport and they would all get behind it."

The delegation also visited the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre which could be used as a venue for a Preliminary or Final draw if Australia won the right to host a FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Ten host cities have been selected as part of the bi d under Australia’s nationwide hosting proposal that will see World Cup matches in six states and territories.

Three new stadiums will be built in Perth, Canberra and Blacktown in Western Sydney and nine others upgraded should the did be successful, providing an infrastructure legacy for all sporting codes worth an estimated US$2.55 billion.

Australia is the third stop in a tour of the nine countries bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA tournaments and the inspection team will wrap its visit tomorrow.

Football Federation Australia officials are keeping the media off limits for the entire visit, choosing instead to release pooled footage and images along with prepared statements.

The decision to deny media representatives access to FIFA officials is understood to have come after recent allegations raised by The Age newspaper against Australia’s bid team, later discredited by the Australian Government, the FFA and FIFA.

"FIFA have informed FFA that the FIFA Delegation visit is exclusively for the purpose of inspecting stadiums and other critical infrastructure and therefore members of the delegation will not be available for interview during their visit," said the FFA.

The three-day visit concludes on Wednesday and is followed by an 11-day break before the FIFA team inspect the other six candidates for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.


By INSIDER’s James Corbett and Anthony Stavrinos

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