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[TD="colspan: 2"] Football: 2030 World Cup in ASEAN may be possible
By Low Lin Fhoong, TODAY | Posted: 28 September 2011 0717 hrs
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SINGAPORE: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have thrown their weight behind ASEAN's desire to bid for the 2030 World Cup, saying it is doable.
While acknowledging that it was a challenge because of the number of countries involved, AFC's experience with the 2007 Asian Cup had shown that it was possible for multiple hosts to run a major tournament. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam hosted the Cup, which was won by Iraq.
Speaking to TODAY on the sidelines of the 2011 Asia-Pacific Sports Conference here on Tuesday, AFC marketing director Satoshi Saito said: "Of course with 10 countries making up ASEAN, it will be a challenge with visa and logistical issues. But I'm sure that is a very exciting setup that can be planned.
"For the Asian Cup in 2007, AFC had four host nations and that was a big challenge, but we did it successfully .
"From Asia's point of view, having a World Cup in the region will be something very recommendable, something welcomed. There must be proper preparations, proper procedures to host the event.
"If there's anything that AFC can do to support the bid, we welcome it as an organisation."
ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and, Vietnam, had floated the idea of a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup finals at their foreign ministers' summit in Indonesia earlier this year.
It was reported that the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) would form a committee to study the viability of the bid.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter is considering changes to the selection process for future bids, which could see all 208 members voting for the host country rather than the current 24-member executive committee.
Responding to queries from TODAY, AFF assistant secretary-general Toh Sen Nee said: "ASEAN are rethinking how they should do this, and they realise they need to put together a more complete package to be able to convince the public, and to get some public level support for this thing.
"They realise it's not just about announcing the World Cup bid, you need to announce why you're doing it and what you're doing to ensure its success."
If the ASEAN bid does eventually go through and succeed, it will be the second time that the World Cup finals will be hosted in more than one country since it was jointly organised by Japan and South Korea in 2002.
But issues such as transport, logistics and automatic host country slots would need to be ironed out.
The prospect of having World Cup teams competing in Singapore's 55,000-seater National Stadium, which is part of the S$1.33 billion Sports Hub that will be completed in April 2014, has already got SportsHub chief executive officer Philippe Collin Delavaud excited.
Said the Frenchman: "It's a very good idea. Multi-countries with existing facilities bidding will be the future because legacy will not be an issue. You share the risk and share the reward and for medium-sized countries in Asia, this is the best."
While stadiums capable of seating 70,000 and above are required to host World Cup finals, Delavaud stressed that the new stadium at Kallang would be equipped to host qualifying games and quarter-final matches for the world's biggest football tournament.
Tuesday's conference also saw Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and Guest-of-Honour Chan Chun Sing highlighting the importance of long-term investment in sports in Singapore and the region during his speech. The two-day sports conference ends on Wednesday. [/TD]
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