25 OCTOBER 2009
AUSSIE KIDS: COME WRITE! COME PLAY!
Win a trip to South Africa and help bring the greatest show on earth to Australia
The ‘Come Play!’ team at Football Federation Australia (FFA) is giving eight lucky children the chance to win
a trip to South Africa in early December to help bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia.
With the experience of a lifetime, one winner from each state will be appointed a FFA ‘Come Play!’ World
Cup ‘emissary’ and travel to Cape Town and be part of the team that helps put Australia’s case forward to
host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022 at an official Bid event.
The FIFA World Cup is the largest single sporting event in the world – bigger than the Olympic Games. If
successful, the FIFA World Cup Finals will see Australia host more than 750,000 overseas visitors with
around 900 million people from 214 countries expected to tune in to watch the final.
To be a part of history, children can simply tell the FFA in 300 words or less why they think Australia should
host the FIFA World Cup. Children can also say why Australia should host the games through pictures as
well as words.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley said the initiative was an opportunity for football enthusiasts across Australia to be a
part of history.
“We believe the children who are future of football will play a crucial role in putting Australia’s case forward to
host the greatest show on earth.”
“This competition and the letters submitted by the children will provide a valuable snapshot of the passion
young Australians have for football.”
“We are launching this initiative at a time to help build momentum across the community for the bid to host
the FIFA World Cup.”
Buckley said that participation rates in the game are at an all-time high with around one million Australians
now playing.
“Participation rates for boys aged 5-14 have been growing strongly for more than a decade and eclipse the
three other football codes combined. It is vital that the enthusiasm and passion for football that exists across
Australia is communicated to FIFA.
“While the decision isn’t made for another year, the Cape Town event is one of the few official opportunities
to present on Australia’s bid before the international football community and media.
“This bid is important for football, but it is also important for our country. If successful, the FIFA World Cup
would generate $3.9 billion in direct expenditure, 4.7 million spectators and more than 74,000 full-time jobs.”
“Now is the time for everyone to get behind this bid and show why Australia is the best country in the world
to host the World Cup,” Mr Buckley said.
Applications can be submitted by e-mail to comeplay2018-2022@footballaustralia.com.au or by
regular post to ‘Come Play!’, FFA, Locked Bag A4071, Sydney South, NSW 1235. Entries close on
November 10, 2009.
ENDS
For further information and to organise an interview, please contact: Kate McQuestin on 0419 591 150
Facts and figures on the FIFA World Cup:
The FIFA World Cup is the largest single sporting event in the world – it’s bigger than the Olympics
Games.
The FIFA World Cup tournament has been running for almost eight decades, occurring every four
years.
The next FIFA World Cup will be in South Africa in 2010 followed by Brazil in 2014.
The FIFA World Cup is hosted by a country (or countries), rather a city.
The FIFA World Cup generally comprises 64 games.
The Asian region, which Australia is part of, is the fastest growing region in world football and the
region with the most potential and capacity to grow the game.
26.3 billion people tuned into watch the 2006 FIFA World Cup around the world – the largest
television viewing came from the Asian region (approximately 35% of the cumulative television
audience).
To put this in perspective the Australia 2003 Rugby World Cup had a global audience of 3.4 billion.
It is anticipated that the cumulative television audience for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
will reach 40 billion people.
The last FIFA World Cup, held in Germany, attracted 2 million international visitors, 3.3 million
spectators, almost 19,000 accredited media and $2 billion in worldwide retails sales of licensed
merchandise.
There are eight bidders for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, including:
o
Australia
o
Belgium/Netherlands
o
England
o
Indonesia
o
Japan
o
Portugal/Spain
o
Russia
o
United States
For the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the same eight countries are also bidding. They are joined by Qatar
and Korea Republic, bringing the total number of bidders to 10. The two winning bidders will earn
the right to host the FIFA World Cup, in either June/July 2018 or June/July 2022, as well as the
FIFA Confederations Cup (held in the preceding year).
It is not possible for two countries from the same confederation to be consecutive hosts. For
example, if England was to win in 2018, no other European bidder is eligible for 2022.
Bidding countries must demonstrate:
o
Compliance with the bidding process, bidding registration and bidding agreement
o
Anticipated impact on the game, and on society as a whole, in both the host country and
abroad
o
Support for the bid from the Government, the general public and football community
o
Infrastructure and management capabilities to host the tournament
o
An innovative and meaningful legacy programme for after the event
Further information on Australia’s bid to host the World Cup can be seen at www.australia2018-2022.com.au
NEWS 
