CANBERRA (Dispatches) -- Football Australia (FA) has flagged a bid to host the FIFA men’s World Cup in 2034.
James Johnson, the chief executive of FA, said that Australia was a long way from making a decision on whether to bid for the World Cup but said it was important to start talks a decade in advance.
His comments came after media reports suggested that Australia was preparing a bid to host either the 2030 or 2034 tournament in an attempt to surround the 2032 Brisbane Olympics with major events having already won the right to host the 2023 women’s World Cup.
Johnson said the speculation was “a little out of context” but said a bid for 2034 was more likely, suggesting that 2030 would likely be held in Europe or South America after Qatar in 2022 and North America in 2026.
“The next time we can realistically host the World Cup is in 2034,” he told reporters. “There’s an opportunity to bring the World Cup back to Asia, the Asia-Pacific area, in 2034.”