Australia NewsWorld Cup? 'Yes, We Can!' |
IT WAS bold, brazen and uniquely Australian when the FFA launched officially its bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.
FFA chairman Frank Lowy has called on the Australian public to unite behind the 2018/2002 World Cup bid, which was officially launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Sunday.
Lowy said that the support of the people of Australia was vital to the success of Australia's bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 World Cup, something he described as 'realistic and achievable'.
"Our aim is to show FIFA and the football world that we are passionate about football and welcoming the world," Lowy said.
"People from all over the world want to visit our country," he said. "Thanks to the performance of the Qantas Socceroos at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, as well as the many thousands of Australian fans who followed them, the rest of the world has a very positive view of us."
"Hosting the World Cup would provide Australia with an unparalleled opportunity and give Australia a lasting and living legacy for generations to come."
"On the world stage, there is no event with the same level of global appeal or audience reach as the FIFA World Cup."
Lowy pointed to Australia's rich history of hosting major events as another key aspect of the bid.
"Bidding for, and hosting, the FIFA World Cup is a natural corollary of our proud history in staging major events as a strategy to grow, develop and promote Australia as a nation," he said.
"Events such as the 1956 and 2000 Olympic Games, four Commonwealth Games, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Indy 500, the Rugby World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Australian Open, the FIFA World Youth Cup and World Youth Day have all added to Australia's reputation and image as a nation, and as a serious and credible contender in major event hosting and management."
The bid features a football-themed social networking website as well as promotional film entitled 'Come Play'.
"This bid is for football, but it is also for Australia," Lowy said.
"We have many milestones between today and when the decision is made and we hope that all Australians can join this bid 100 percent."
"We now invite all Australians to enlist in what we hope will be an exciting and successful campaign to bring the greatest show on earth to the world's greatest playground."
FFA will make a final presentation to FIFA in December 2010 when a decision on both the 2018 and 2022 hosting rights will be made.
Socceroo skipper Neill added" "This dream, this big dream to bring the FIFA World Cup home is one that makes you realise just how far we've come under the leadership of Frank Lowy and his management team lead by Ben Buckley.
"Who'd have dreamed we'd even think about this ten years ago? The more I think about it the more I think, yes we can." .
Thirty-five years to the day since the Socceroos played their first game at a World Cup in 1974, the launch was a coming together of political rivals as well as drawing together Australia's Indigenous past with its present.
A promotional video for the launch was previewed with Harry Kewell kicking off a glitzy video focusing on the people of Australia rather than celebrities.
Other guest included singer Christine Anu who sang the national anthem, Aboriginal former Socceroo Harry Williams and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
The PM said the bid was a "a great challenge, but the prize much greater" while FFA chairman Frank Lowy was lauded for providing the impetus for the audacious bid.
He added: "Together we can make the dream come true."
If you want to help the bid, log onto to www.australia2018-2022.com.au.
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