FFA hold talks with Indonesia for joint 2034 World Cup bid

Australia has held discussions with Indonesia about making a joint bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, Football Federation Australia (FFA) said on Thursday.

FIFA World Cup

Source: TASS

"Football Federation Australia confirms it has held discussions with the Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) about the possibility to jointly bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup," the FFA said in a statement.

"An Indonesia-Australia joint bid was also discussed at last week’s ASEAN Football Federation Council Meeting in Laos."

The FFA statement comes days after Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said 10 countries from the ASEAN bloc, including Indonesia, would bid for the tournament at a news conference in Bangkok on Sunday.

The FFA said it noted the joint South East Asian bid was endorsed at the ASEAN summit.

"FFA welcomes the opportunity to further discuss a ASEAN bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup with fellow Member Associations in the region," the statement added.

The ASEAN countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei. Australia is not a member of that regional body. 

The talks of a potential World Cup bid comes nine years after Australia's failed attempt to secure hosting rights for the 2022 tournament which was controversially awarded to Qatar. 

Both FFA and the Indonesian Football Association are believed to have held talks with their respective governments with further discussions to take place between Australian football's governing body and the Federal Government expected to take place in coming months.

Australia is already competing to win the rights to host the 2023 Women's World Cup, while there is also belief FFA is considering joining forces with Indonesia to host the U-20 World Cup in 2021.

Joint World Cup bids are seen as an attractive option for FIFA with the tournament expanding to 48 teams for the USA, Canada and Mexico World Cup in 2026.

Any World Cup bid for the 2034 tournament would face stiff opposition from China who have expressed their desire to host the World Cup.  


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2 min read
Published 27 June 2019 2:25pm
Updated 27 June 2019 2:38pm
Source: SBS The World Game


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