Aussie World Cup bid gets FIFA support

Aussie World Cup bid gets FIFA support

Just days after declaring it was England's time to host the World Cup, FIFA vice
president Jack Warner has assured Australia its bid remains strongly placed.

Warner, a powerful member of the 24-man FIFA executive committee which will decide
the 2018 and 2022 tournament hosts in December next year, talked up England's bid on
Saturday after meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
That was viewed as a significant blow to Australia's hopes despite Warner raising
spirits earlier this month when declaring Australia an "excellent chance".
But the CONCACAF president, one of five members of the executive committee meeting
in Cape Town ahead of this weekend's 2010 World Cup draw, has reiterated his view
that Australians should be "very happy" with their position.
Football Federation Australia have stepped up their bid by announcing Nicole Kidman
as the face of their campaign alongside a new promotional video and book.
"I think that you are doing the correct things," Warner said on Tuesday.
"I think you're pacing yourself quite well, I think you have a kind of interaction
at diverse levels that you should have.
"Then of course, your whole show is professionally well done.
"I like the fact that even your ambassador (Kidman), she knew more about the sport
even than I had given her credit for and this speaks volumes.
"You seem to do everything right and I say it again, on an incremental basis and
this is what is important.
"So I think good luck because honestly, your bid campaign is progressing along the
lines, if I were an Australian, I'd be happy, very happy."
Warner was joined in Cape Town by fellow Executive Committee members Franz
Beckenbauer, Mohamed Bin Hammam, Reynald Temarii and Geoff Thompson.
Of those, Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) president Temarii is known to have
already pledged his vote to Australia's bid - a fact confirmed by OFC General
Manager Tai Nicholas.
"Oceania has already committed their vote towards Australia," said Nicholas.
"We still consider them part of Oceania, it's really an Oceania bid as far as were
concerned because all the football fans in Oceania can get a chance to experience a
World Cup."
German legend Beckenbauer, a World Cup winner both as a player and a coach, was also
supportive of Australia's bid saying it had a "very realistic" chance.
"I think it's a great bid, it's perfect and also you have the support of some very,
very experienced people, they know exactly the way how it goes, how it works to be
successful," he said.
"To be realistic, the Europeans they try, of course, to get the World Cup back (in)
2018 after two times - South Africa 2010 and 2014 in Brazil, then 2018 they say `no,
no, we bring the World Cup back.'
"But if not 2018, then 2022 you have a very, very realistic chance of course."
Australia, England, Belgium and the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, Indonesia,
Japan, Russia and the United States are bidding to host the 2018 finals while Qatar
and South Korea will join that group in bidding for 2022.