Why Australia must unite behind 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, writes Simon Hill

Why Australia must unite behind 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, writes Simon Hill

On Sunday night, I sat in the stands at the Calabash to watch the World Cup final. Next to me sat a South African couple, full of pride at how their nation had hosted the tournament.

In front, sat two Turks, brandishing their national flag and a Galatasaray scarf. On the next row, lodged in next to each other were two Paraguayans, a Russian, and a Moroccan.

Looking behind me, I could see a man dressed strangely as a Spanish senorita, an oranje-clad Santa Claus, and thousands of other weird concoctions akin to a fancy dress party on New Year's Eve.




“ The AFL and NRL have nothing to fear - their sports will not die - but they must realise they don’t own the country. ”There wasn’t a hint of trouble - even when Netherlands lost a bad-tempered game - and many waved placards to thank the South Africans for the superb job they had done in making everyone feel so welcome. It truly was the rainbow stadium in the rainbow nation.

This isn’t misty-eyed romanticism - these are the cold hard facts of how a World Cup can bring joy to a country.

Here’s a few more.

South Africa welcomed nearly 400,000 visitors during the World Cup - in total, the tournament’s contribution to the nation's GDP was 93 billion rand ($14 billion) - enough to add half a percentage point to its annual growth (estimated to be three per cent this year).

According to the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, business confidence also grew to unprecedented levels in the build-up to the World Cup.

The tournament hasn’t solved South Africa’s financial - or social - problems.

But it has helped immeasurably - even the much talked about crime issues were virtually non-existent. Aside of a few isolated incidents (sadly, one involving ten Australian fans), the specially created World Cup courts had only 100 or so cases to deal with. One overseas paper even remarked South Africa’s criminals had performed as poorly as Italy, France and England.



The legacy for South Africa? A clutch of world class stadiums (of which, hopefully only one or two have the potential to become white elephants), and a much-improved infrastructure, including the Gautrain, which gets you from the airport to Sandton in 15 minutes.

But much more than that, it has changed perceptions of the country. Already here, they are talking about building on the “sense of purpose” shown to tackle existing problems.

So, with all that evidence - why is it that some in Australia still fight so hard against our bid to host the finals in 2022?

True, not all people are football fans in Australia - but you don’t have to be to appreciate having a huge sporting event on your doorstep. I doubt many were avid fans of synchronised swimming ahead of the Sydney Olympics, but there wasn’t the outcry Australia’s 'Come Play' bid is generating this time.

Why wouldn’t you want such a boost to the country’s finances and esteem? The FIFA World Cup would be good news for Australia as a whole, not just FFA and football lovers.
Coppied by http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/world-cup-bid/why-australia-must-unite-behind-2022-fifa-world-cup-bid-writes-simon-hill/story-fn3g9e47-1225922991606