Australia's point of difference

Speaking at the prestigious International Football Arena conference in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Lowy said that world football must make the most of the opportunity offered by the burgeoning growth of Asia.

“Not only is Asia the centre of the future of the world’s economy, but it is also the centre of the future of world football,” Lowy said.

Lowy dismissed suggestions that a FIFA World Cup in Australia would be less commercially attractive than other parts of the world.

“On the contrary, Australia being part of Asia can mean that FIFA can potentially generate greater revenues over time,” he explained.

“Current FIFA partners already have significant Asian revenues. This is a consequence of the enormous population base and continuing growth in the region.

“Asia is home to two-thirds of the world’s population, and is expected to be four times the combined population of developed western economies by 2020.”

Lowy said that the difference is even more pronounced amongst youth where Asia’s population is seven times greater than developed economies.

He added that companies such as Coca Cola, Sony, Adidas and Visa have all identified Asia and its emerging middle class as the key growth market in the period ahead, and other companies are already successfully using the game to target Asia.

“In addition to the population growth, the economic growth of the region projected over the next 10 to 20 years is staggering," he said.

“GDP in Asia will double between 2005 and 2013, that by 2020 it is estimated that the GDP of Asia will be around 2 times greater than that of the major western economies.

Lowy said that Australia believes world football must “act now” to make the most of the opportunity in the Asian region.

“A FIFA World Cup in the Asian region would secure the future of football in the region as well as give FIFA and its commercial partners the opportunity to generate maximum revenues.”

He said that, with Australia’s strong track record in hosting major events, as well as the quality of its infrastructure and facilities made Australian an obvious choice for a FIFA World Cup.

Lowy, FFA CEO Ben Buckley, and other members of the Bid team for the 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup will be in Cape Town next week to present Australia’s bid to a global football and media audience.