BRISBANE, Australia, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Australia are
likely to bid to host the 2018 World Cup following FIFA's
decision to scrap its rotation policy, a senior official said
on Tuesday.
Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive Ben
Buckley said Australia was 'very serious' about bidding for the
2018 World Cup now that it was open to countries outside of
North America.
'We flagged our intention to bid for the World Cup at the
earliest possible opportunity and we are delighted that the
FIFA executive committee has decided to abandon the rotation
policy,' Buckley said.
'That will give us the opportunity to bid for and hopefully
be successful in securing the right to host the 2018 FIFA World
Cup.
'So whilst we will be competing with European-based nations
and nations from all over the world, we think this will be a
better system and a better opportunity for us.'
Buckley said the FFA had undertaken preliminary work
looking at potential stadiums and the financial feasibility of
hosting the World Cup. FIFA's executive committee voted
unanimously on Monday to ditch its policy of rotating the World
Cup between the six continental confederations.
Japan are also set to launch their bid to the host the 2018 World Cup after FIFA
ended their rotation policy, despite jointly hosting the event only five years
ago.
Following the decision by the world governing body's executive committee,
Japanese Football Association (JFA) president Saburo Kawabuchi has revealed
discussions would be held over the 'possibility' of launching a solo bid.
Japan jointly hosted the 2002 event with South Korea, but under JFA proposals
released in 2005, they are seeking to host the World Cup by 2050 and win the
tournament under long-term plans titled 'JFA 2005 Declarations'.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said a final decision on the
hosting of the 2018 event would likely be taken in 2011.
