Hilman Hambali

Originally submitted in Semester 1 2018 for the subject of The Emerging Journalist

In the early hours of 3 December 2010, tired football fans around Australia were in shock as the word ‘Qatar’ echoed their dimly lit living rooms. The tiny nation would be the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Australia, who were also in the race to host, only received a measly one vote from FIFA’s executive committee. Now it’s time for FIFA to choose the 2026 FIFA World Cup host at the next FIFA Congress in Moscow on 13 June 2018.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first with 48 teams with a revamped tournament structure. Now the competition will comprise of 16 groups of three teams where the top two teams progressing to the knockout stages.

The two bids competing for the right to host are the African country of Morocco and the joint North American bid of Canada, Mexico and the United States under the banner of ‘United 2026’.

This is the fifth time Morocco has attempted to host a FIFA World Cup. It aims to be the second African country to host after South Africa in 2010. Morocco plan to build nine new stadiums and renovate five existing stadiums. Morocco’s biggest advantage is their proximity to Europe and being able to capture European television audiences due to being in the same time zone.

Hans Westerbeek, Professor of Sport Business at Victoria University, says a European television audience is much more attractive than a television audience from the Americas due to a higher level of engaged viewers.

“Africa and Europe are football mad, less so North America, especially when the USA do not qualify. Engagement levels with football in Europe and Africa also impacts the positive effect of advertising and sponsorship around the World Cup as an engaged and football informed audience is more likely to buy,” Westerbeek said.

The North American bid would be the first with three host countries with the 2002 edition being the only other World Cup with multiple hosts. The bid plans for 60 games in the United States with the remaining 20 games split between Canada and Mexico. The tournament will be held in 16 cities across the continent in already built stadiums. Mexico and the United States already have experience with hosting the World Cup with the 1994 tournament in the United States boasting the highest average attendance in the competition’s history.

Westerbeek says a World Cup across three countries can be successful.

“[If they have] experience in major event organising/hosting by the country and cities; some sense of common culture between the host nations; existing infrastructure both in terms of venues and transport [and] aligned systems in particular in regard to safety and security”.

Dr Stephen Frawley, Senior Lecturer of Sports Management at the University of Technology Sydney says there will be challenges in hosting a World Cup across three countries.

“No doubt having three nations involved brings a range of challenges including coordination, planning, customs, visa issues and governance matters,” Dr Frawley said.

Even with these challenges Dr Frawley believes Morocco will be the unsuccessful bid.

“I would be very surprised if FIFA awarded Morocco the rights over the USA,” Dr Frawley said.

US President Donald Trump has even called for support for the United 2026 bid on Twitter which was seen as a threat to voting nations.

“It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us…?,” Trump said on Twitter.

The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2018

After the controversy of the vote for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup, FIFA have made changes to the bidding process. The vote in 2010 was between an executive committee of 22 representatives. Since the vote, many of these representatives have been banned from FIFA and charged by the FBI for corruption. Now FIFA will open the vote to all 211 member countries.

Bonita Mersiades, a former Football Federation Australia executive and advocate for reform in FIFA, says revamped process is an improvement but more needs to change.

“It’s not the process, it’s the culture within world football administration and this has not been addressed at all,” Mersiades said.

Mersiades, who also wrote Whatever It Takes: The Inside Story of the FIFA Way on being a part of Australia’s bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, disagrees with any future bids by Australia, including the upcoming bid for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, until there is reform in FIFA.

“Participating in a substandard process within a flawed culture is merely continuing to play the game the ‘FIFA Way’. It is doing nothing to help change it for the better,” she said.