How Singapore and Malaysia could help bring a men’s FIFA World Cup to Australia

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When fans of Indonesian side Arema stormed the pitch last year after a loss to rivals Persebaya Surabaya and triggered the worst stadium disaster in almost 60 years, killing 135 people, the reverberations were felt around the world.

In Australia, it put a dent in long-held ambitions of hosting the biggest sporting event on the planet: the men’s FIFA World Cup. Plans for a three-way bid between Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand for the 2034 edition had been loosely discussed. They were immediately derailed.

And as if to make sure of it, the controversy surrounding Israel’s involvement in the men’s U-20 World Cup — where protesters, including the Bali governor, ultimately forced FIFA to strip Indonesia of hosting rights — was another bitter blow to Indonesia’s reputation in football, which was already muddied by years of corruption, political interference and squandered potential.

But a bid for the 2034 men’s World Cup is back on the agenda. Football Australia has put it there, with chief executive James Johnson telling this masthead before the tournament — and again, to other outlets repeatedly, during it — that it would be discussed with New Zealand after the Women’s World Cup, which, as promised, is turning out to be the best one yet.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his executive team have been blown away by the love and passion for football in these parts, the quality of match venues, and the way it has all been run without a hitch. Australia seems hungry for more. FIFA seems open to it. And the possibilities must have been discussed between Infantino, Johnson and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and their Kiwi counterparts in their corporate suites on either side of the Tasman.

With no disrespect to the Women’s World Cup, the men’s version is a step up in every way — broader interest levels, volume of teams and matches, tourism impact, and of course, cost. The hosting requirements are arduous to the point where two countries can’t do it by themselves, let alone one.

The Women’s World Cup has been a resounding success.Credit: Getty

The next edition, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026, will be the first with 48 teams, up from 32. There will be an unprecedented 104 matches played across 12 groups in 16 host cities — 11 in the USA, two in Canada and three in Mexico, each with one stadium.

It is a huge undertaking, and in this case, has required buy-in from the highest levels of government in three different countries — as with the active bids for 2030, which are Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Ukraine, and Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.

Australia and New Zealand can’t do it alone. FIFA’s minimum capacity requirement for match venues is 40,000 seats; they take a dim view of stadiums which aren’t rectangular, but would reluctantly wave them through for group stage fixtures or early knockout games.

As it stands, there are only nine that would currently fit the bill, and they’re not all perfect: Accor Stadium, Allianz Stadium, the MCG, Marvel Stadium, Adelaide Oval, Suncorp Stadium, Optus Stadium, GMHBA Stadium, and Eden Park.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.Credit: Getty

And there would need to be negotiations with other venue hirers, such as the AFL and NRL, for some of those to be made available — or, if at least one of the aforementioned two in Melbourne could not be secured, it may require expansion of AAMI Park or another new stadium to be built.

So if Indonesia is too risky to partner with, then who else makes sense?

The obvious answer lies only slightly north: Singapore and Malaysia.

The 10 ASEAN nations have also discussed a joint bid between themselves — but if these two peeled away and joined forces with the trans-Tasman nations, globally renowned for their major event expertise, to form a compelling Asia-Pacific bid, it is surely a win for everyone.

They are the closest cultural match in the region for Australia and New Zealand. They are two safe pairs of hands, with strong footballing traditions and tourism industries. They would help stretch the timezones for matches to better suit overseas broadcasters and help garner strong political support from the rest of Asia — and Oceania.

They also have loads of good stadiums. Singapore’s 55,000-seat National Stadium opened in 2014 and is regularly packed out for European club visits in pre-season. In Malaysia, there are close to a dozen options that would meet FIFA’s capacity requirement, including the 87,411-seat Bukit Jalil National Stadium, one of the biggest in Asia, the three-year-old Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, and a new stadium in Shah Alam being discussed to replace the current creaking 80,372-seater.

Among the many high-profile football executives, club owners, sheikhs and businesspeople in Johnson’s phone contacts from his time working for FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the City Football Group is Malaysia’s monarch King Abdullah. Back when he was a mere prince, he was on the AFC’s executive committee while Johnson was their director of international relations and development.

These close personal and professional ties are a massive head start when it comes to securing governmental support for a four-way bid — and if Malaysia went all-in, that would provide confidence for Singapore, New Zealand and Australia’s leaders to do the same.

Singapore’s National Stadium.Credit: Getty

Of course, all of this would be to just secure a spot in the race. With Saudi Arabia and their bottomless pit of money lurking around the corner, an Asia-Pacific bid would be no sure thing. Then there are the low levels of public confidence in FIFA’s processes to deal with, at least within Australia. While it wasn’t a problem for the Women’s World Cup, the painful memories of the failed 2022 World Cup bid have not faded.

Alternatively, Australia’s interest in hosting the 2029 men’s Club World Cup — a new 32-team competition Johnson helped Infantino design during his time at FIFA — is real. The decision for those hosting rights would likely take place in the next two years, according to sources.

Johnson is also considering extending his time at FA beyond the expiry of his contract in 2024, and this would align with his intention to help reinvigorate the club game in Australia if he does.

Either way, it seems Australia’s eyes have finally opened to the wonders of the beautiful game. Everyone can now see for themselves just what it means to have the world here for a tournament like this. We don’t want this feeling to end. So it’s worth at least trying to see when we can have it again.

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