Australia boost football World Cup bid team: report

Australia has recruited successful German consultant Andreas Abold to orchestrate its bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, reports said on Friday.

Abold, who leads a Munich-based events management team, was behind the successful World Cup bids from Germany (2006) and South Africa (2010) and will now help plot Australia’s bid, reports said.

“We will host the World Cup,” Abold told the Daily Telegraph.

“We are working with Football Federation Australia (FFA) on all the upcoming milestones, such as the FIFA inspection visit which we expect to be in your winter – and definitely the final presentation,” he said.

“At the very last moment you have to address your key messages to the 24 decision makers (on the FIFA Executive), and no one knows what will happen, which continents will be eliminated as it unfolds and which are still in contention.”

Abold said the message to be hammered home was that Australia was a safe pair of hands with a can-do mentality making for a tournament FIFA, the sport’s governing body, could be certain would be a success.

“I know there is a certain perception of Australia as a ‘no worries’ country and this is what we want to communicate to FIFA, who after all will be handing over their most valuable asset, the World Cup,” he said.

“Our strategy is to say that in Australia you have a safe pair of hands — we know exactly how to deliver and that you can rely on our guarantees.”

Abold said Australia’s home within Asian football gave it a serious selling point.

Australia’s bid was given a glowing endorsement this week by FIFA executive committee member Jack Warner, who said the country has an “excellent chance” of hosting the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

Australia is up against a joint bid from Spain and Portugal, with England, Japan, China, the United States and Russia also seeking the 2018 tournament, while Belgium and the Netherlands are mulling a joint bid.

FFA chairman Frank Lowy has said previously that Australia’s prime objective was 2018, with 2022 a possible second prize.

FIFA’s executive committee will make a decision in December 2010 on which country will host the 2018 tournament.

South Africa will host the next World Cup in 2010, followed by Brazil in 2014.