22 NOVEMBER 2009
QUEENSLAND BOY TO HELP BRING WORLD CUP TO AUSTRALIA
Blake Varga appointed World Cup emissary and off to South Africa
Football Federation Australia (FFA) today announced Blake Varga as the Queensland winner of the Come
Write! Come Play! Competition and appointed him to the role of FFA ‘Come Play!’ World Cup emissary.
As Queensland’s winner, 10-year-old Blake will travel to Cape Town in South Africa in early December
where he will be part of the team that helps put Australia’s case forward to host the FIFA World Cup™ in
2018 or 2022.
The FFA called on children across the nation last month to tell them in 300 words or less why they think
Australia should host the FIFA World Cup™. Thousands of children used pictures as well as words to say
why Australia should host the games. However, there could only be one winner from each state.
Blake won the competition in Queensland as the judges thought his entry best captured the spirit and
passion Australians have for the World Cup bid.
FFA CEO, Ben Buckley said he was thrilled at the number and quality of entries the FFA received, “It
showed the huge community support behind the World Cup bid and is a fantastic illustration of the passion
Aussie kids have for football.”
“I congratulate Blake on his win and hope he enjoys being a part of a significant event in Australian history.
The Cape Town event is an important part of the bid process as it is one of the few official opportunities to
present Australia’s bid before the international football community and media.”
“Children, as the future of football in Australia, will play a crucial role in putting our case across to host the
greatest show on earth.”
Blake and his father Mark will travel to South Africa with FFA’s bid team and seven other World Cup
emissaries - representing each state and territory of Australia.
Blake said he was excited about this once in a lifetime opportunity, “I have played since I was old enough to
kick a ball. It’s a big part of my life. My family are all huge football fans too and I am really looking forward to
helping put Australia’s case forward.”
“It would also build the number of football fans in Australia as more people will see the game,” Blake said.
Blake is from Kawana Island on the Sunshine Coast and is one of three children. Proud mother, Joy Varga
said “I am thrilled Blake won and still coming to terms with the excitement of it all. He will do a great job in
showing the rest of the world why Australia is the best place in the world to host the World Cup.”
The FIFA World Cup™ is the largest single sporting event in the world – bigger than the Olympic Games. If
successful, the FIFA World Cup™ will see Australia host almost 1m overseas visitors and would generate
$3.9 billion in direct expenditure and more than 74,000 full-time jobs.
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 FIFA World Cup™ can be seen at www.australia2018-
2022.com.au
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