Posts tagged ‘FIFA World Cup’
Better Late than Never?
It was interesting to read this morning that former Sports Minister Mark Arbib speaking at a lunch in Sydney on Wednesday stated as Not The Footy Show did back in 2010 (Money needed to make the Sporting World Go Around) that some of our elite athletes who have come through programs such as the AIS should be required to give money back to the system.
On Sportsbusinessinsider.com he is quoted as saying “there has been a lot of discussion around should there be a type of HECS for athletes that go through the AIS. This is a discussion that happens at the policy level but also I mean academics talk a lot about it and there are similar systems overseas. As a minister I did look at it, and it is something that may be difficult to implement but at the same time it is something I support. I think there is a space for athletes who are earning at the higher level who went through the AIS or went through an academy to put some money back into sport. And I think that is something that most of them wouldn’t have a problem with, they (Athletes) put a lot of time and effort into community and into their own sport and I think if financially they’re doing well there should be a contribution back the same as if you go through university and pay HECS.”
This is all well and good, but one wonders why it is people like Mr Arbib only see the light when they have left Politics and the power to make a difference?
The same could be said about his comments on Australia’s poor performance at the Olympic Games, “The warning bells for Australian sport are ringing. If we don’t take some steps now to improve some structures and make sure we have the funding in place, then things are not going to turn around and the reason why that worries me as a policy maker and it should worry people in government is because there is a connection between putting people on the podium and participation. The more Australians you put on the podium, the more young Australians who will put down their play stations and go outside and start playing sport. There is a link and we need to make sure they are sport obsessed and keep that going in Rio and beyond.”
The fact is the past few Sports Ministers have been caught napping on the job as Sports fans in Australia witness the top positions being given to “mates” for want of a better word, rather than the best people for the job. The rest of the World looked at Australia ten to fifteen years ago and started copying their processes. Australia sadly did not continue to push those boundaries and have now been surpassed by many other nations in their development programs. Many employed some of the best Australian coaches, while as a result of these programs failing to evolve, Australia suddenly failed to attract the top foreign coaches around the world. On top of that jobs started being given to “mates,” former athletes who at the time of tehir appointment were not ready for such a role.
To stay on top of the world in sport one has to keep moving forward and stay abreast of the changes taking place. Ironically Australia has fallen into the same trap as Great Britain did in the 60′s where a little period of success made them believe everything was great so why the need to change. Some would say Britain has never fully recovered, Australia will, but we need ministers with vision and passion to make those visions become reality. It is no good admitting such things once you have left your position of influence.
Mr Arbib was also asked whether he felt Australia realistically will ever get to host the FIFA World Cup, after he was part of the disastrous bidding process for the 2022 hosting rights. “It’s not impossible that the World Cup will eventually come here but it’s tough and a lot of money has to go into it to make it happen and there really needs to be some decisions if that investment is worth it or if that can be better spent.Personally, now if we are looking for a World Cup, we should probably be looking at a women’s World Cup. I think bringing the women’s World Cup to Australia would be absolutely awesome. We saw the benefits of having it in (Germany) where they were selling stadiums of 100,000 people and I think you would see a similar thing here. And as a father of two daughters, I would love to see my kids one day playing in a football world cup.”
Would that not have been a better option in the first place? Surely we could have shown FIFA and the rest of the World what a good job we made of hosting the Women’s World Cup and that would have given us a foundation to bid for the Men’s version? It continues to appear that the Government went along with the doomed-from-day-one bid purely to try and make an ageing man’s wish come true. It was a very expensive miscalculation, and the money could have been spent so much better on a myriad of other sports.
It is great to hear Mr Arbib saying all of these things, but one can’t help feeling its a little too late now.
Show Me The Money!
With many overseas athletes about to reap the financial rewards of Olympic success in terms of new sponsorship deals and advertising contracts many Australian athletes – and the company’s they promoted – may be a little embarrassed that they were a little premature in paying out the big bucks. Consistency is the key to making it big financially in sport as the recent list of highest paid athletes from June 2011 – June 2012 proves.
Topping the list is Boxer, Floyd Mayweather jar with earnings in Australian dollars $79million, fellow boxer Manny Pacquiao is second with $57.6million. Tiger Woods surprised many by coming in third with $55million. Basketballer LeBron James was fourth with $49million and Roger Federer was fifth with $48 million.
Following in the next five places came another basketballer Kobe Bryant, golfer Phil Mickleson, footballer David Beckham with a meagre $42million, Cristiano Ronaldo was ninth with $39 million and NFL star Peyton Manning was tenth.
Only two women, both tennis players made the Forbes list of the 100 highest paid athletes, Maria Sharapova – $25million – came in 26th and China’s Li Na with $17million came in 81st.
Interestingly along with a list of the highest paid athletes Forbes also revealed the top ten richest sporting events and confirmed something that many had talked about and that could spell trouble for Football’s governing body FIFA. That is that the UEFA Champions League is the richest sporting event. The figures produced were based on prize-money paid out to winners of either single events or tournaments. They did not include an event’s total prize money or any season long competitions that don’t end in play off finals.
The UEFA Champions League came in first with prize money of $71.5million, the UEFA European Football Championship was second with $30.6 million and the FIFA World Cup third with $28.8million. Making up the top five were The Super Bowl with $14.4million and The World Series Baseball with $13.7million.
Golf”s FedEx Cup came in sixth followed by the Dubai World Cup Night horse race and then the UEFA Europa league. Coming in ninth and tenth are the World Series of Poker with prize money of $8.1million and the ICC Cricket World Cup with $3.7million.
Football may only have two players in the top ten earners but having four tournaments in the top ten shows exactly what pulling power and potential earnings are there are if the competition is run correctly.
NB All figures have been rounded up and down when converted from US dollars to Australian dollars.
Take Your Seats Please
A common occurrence at most major sporting events is the over-pricing of tickets. It would appear that the IOC, and FIFA are completely out of touch with the economy in the countries they opt to host events. We saw it at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and it is happening at the London Olympics with tickets being given to the armed forces to fill some of the empty seats.
What is probably a bigger concern is that most of the empty seats that are seen by those sitting at home watching on television belong to the events sponsors. It is believed that up to 60,000 seats a day are being left unused by the Olympic Games sponsors. This is criminal when there are so many people who would love to attend one event, yet failed to obtain tickets through the ballot or by any other means.
Surely it is time that the IOC or the local organising committee and FIFA said to these corporate sponsors that they must confirm allocated seat usage 48 hours before the event or the tickets will be released to the general public. Or better still why don’t they donate them to a chosen charity to reward their volunteers, or so that they can sell the tickets to raise some much needed funds. Imagine what it would mean to some children in an orphanage to attend an event such as the Olympic Games, it may inspire them to one day become a Champion.
It is both embarrassing to see a whole chunk of seats empty and disrespectful to the event and the athletes. It shows that it really is all about product exposure rather than about hosting clients to a spectacular and unforgettable sporting event. Shame too on those who are invited and simply fail to show up.
Running to Plan
Lord Coe was renowned for his kick in the final laps of his pet events the 1500 and 800 metres in his running days and one has to say he may well need that kick as London 2012 becomes less than 200 days away.
London 2012 are to be commended for the fact that they are well ahead of schedule, unlike previous Olympic hosts, with all of the venues completed. Credit being given to Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority John Armitt who received a knighthood in the Queens New Years honours and of whom Lord Coe states of his appointment, “the best move I have ever made.”
As Lord Coe has stated the next six months are going to be tough as the economy continues to tighten, and those who he hoped to fill the stands have had their finances also take a battering.
“We have a responsibility to deliver something that lifts the spirit of the nation. If we achieve that I will be happy.” He said.
Certainly Britain could do with a lift as it will be many years before they get to host the biggest sporting event apart from the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, after having the courage to stand up against the one man election of President Sepp Blatter.
It will be a moment in the country’s history and let us hope it is a games to remember.
SBS and RPH Join Forces for the World Cup
Four years ago Western Australians were unable to tune into the FIFA World Cup on radio until the quarter finals when following complaints directly to FIFA, 990 6RPH Information Radio after reaching an agreement with SBS broadcast the final rounds of the competition.
In response to this demand from listeners SBS Radio have ensured that this will not be the case in 2010 and have partnered with the RPH Australia network to be able to offer Australians comprehensive English language coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup games on radio around Australia.
SBS Radio will be broadcasting all of the games from the 2010 FIFA World Cup on their FM radio services but only in the foreign languages of the teams contesting each fixture. Their English language coverage will only be broadcast on their AM stations of which there was not one in Western Australia, so a partnership with RPH was beneficial to all.
Therefore all English speaking Australians in the Perth metropolitan area and football fans in general will benefit from this partnership, as otherwise they would be unable to pick up this coverage.
There is no doubt that the FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet and 990 6RPH Information Radio are pleased to be partnering SBS once again to bring you Western Australians all the live action from South Africa.
What We Hear, But Will They Listen?
“The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people,” is a quote by former president of the United States Woodrow T Wilson. Never will it be truer than with the new CEO of Football West. A failure to acknowledge his sage advice could see the incumbent start on a very bumpy ride.
For all those concerned about the direction that the local game in Western Australia has been heading in the past 10 months without a CEO, you wait may be over. We hear that a second offer is on the table to one of the second round of applicants, and they are waiting to hear if the offer is accepted. Let us hope that if it is not this time they have a second choice.
While all of this is going on, it is disappointing to hear that the board have not seen fit to instigate anything linking the FIFA World Cup to Football in WA. This is a wonderful opportunity being missed. Riding on the back of the City Of Perth’s big screen in Northbridge, does not cut the mustard.
Whoever takes over the role is going to have to be pretty dynamic to lift the game out of the torpor it has suffered in the past year, and the previous two when it was lead by a man with no passion for the game.
As Shane Richardson the CEO of The South Sydney Rabbitohs stated on “Not the Footy Show” last night, a CEO without a passion and a feel for the game will never deliver you results. These are essential pre-requisites.
Fanpower
No longer will the technical study group from FIFA decide the player of the match at the FIFA World Cup, but for the first time ever it will be the fans who decide in South Africa.
This is all about to be revealed by Anheuser-busch the brewers of official World Cup beer Budweiser on Friday. It will be interactive with the fans via the internet and mobile text messaging, and will result in the player of the match being named the Budweiser Man of the Match.
The brewing giant is also behind “Bud House” which is according to reports “ a big brother style show bringing 32 fans from each of the qualifying nations under one roof in Cape Town.”
Sixteen fans of each sex will sleep in rooms based on the group pools and the world will watch. The two fans who are there at the end will get tickets to the final.
Timing is Everything in Sport, On and Off the Park!
Wonderful scaremongering by AFL Chief Andrew Demetriou yesterday, making fans of his code of Football contemplate a season without football. Which even if Australia wins one of its World Cup bids is unlikely to be the case.
It is one thing to accuse the FFA of not communicating properly, but the timing is an exquisite attempt at blindsiding the World code of football. Is it a coincidence that he makes these statements the weekend after the World Cup draw?
Stadia are undoubtedly a major issue with the FFA’s world cup bid, with the much talked about MCG currently not meeting FIFA’s requirements in that spectators will be too far from the pitch. This means that Etihad Stadium, Stadium Australia and Suncorp are the only three stadia currently acceptable.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley stated that changing the configuration of the MCG is an option that the FFA are not “actively pursuing.” So the Australian code of Football does not need to worry.
Also we are one year away from the final bid being lodged and there are bound to be many issues that need to be ironed out. Issues that no doubt the FFA are exploring all options on before broaching them with rival codes; It is better to eliminate possible obstacles before sitting down and discussing issues that may become irrelevant.
The World Cup may only last four weeks, but FIFA will take over the stadia two weeks prior to the tournament as they did in South Africa, so they are likely to be out of commission for a minimum of six weeks. Although after the first two weeks when the group stages have finished and the tournament enters the quarter and semi final phases some interstate venues could become available as they will no longer be required by FIFA to host games.
Surely the AFL is able to come up with some creative fixturing during this period? After all many overseas visitors may want to witness the Australian version of football while they are here for the greatest show on earth.
Why can’t the AFL take games to remote or country areas of Australia to help spread the word? Surely they should be looking at this as an opportunity rather than simply seeking every opening to try and turn the sports-loving public of Australia against the possibility of hosting the greatest show on earth? They may be surprised as to how many of their sport’s fans would welcome the chance of seeing the greatest footballers in the world on their doorstep, and would put up with a few weeks disruption. Maybe they should run a poll on it, but then again maybe it may not tell them what they want to hear.
For many it will be the only chance they may ever have of seeing Australia host the FIFA World Cup. It is a chance to showcase this great country and show the World how we embrace every sport and are one of the best host nations when it comes to hosting sporting events.
As the song goes it’s time to “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative- Don’t mess with Mr. In-between!”
Australia’s World Cup Bid becomes Childsplay
Everyone knows that to host the FIFA World Cup is to host the biggest sporting event on earth. To bid for this honour alone costs millions of dollars, to win the hosting rights guarantees millions in return as well as massive tourism visitors as well as the chance to showcase your nation.
As with the Olympics it is all about putting a bid together and impressing those who have the power with their votes. It’s about schmoozing those with the crucial votes to ensure that they guarantee that their confederation backs your bid. No easy task, especially now ‘gifts’ are deemed unacceptable.
Obviously the economic benefits are massive and that is why so many governments get behind their nations bid. Add to that the kudos a government gets if its nation’s bid is successful, it is sure to guarantee another term in office. As England Prime Minister Harold Wilson stated when his government regained power in 1974 it was on the back of England’s failure to qualify for the World Cup finals. So sport may play as big a part in politics as politics plays in sport.
Australia is bidding for the hosting rights for 2018 and 2022, and everyone who matters is in South Africa for the draw for next year’s World Cup Finals and to impress and get close to those with voting influence. That is all well and good but should Australia be using innocent children as pawns in this process?
As the FFA put it in a press release ‘eight child emissaries as part of the 1GOAL program, as well as participate in FIFA’s official Bidding Nations Media Expo on Friday morning and attend the Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.’
There is no doubt that this is a wonderful opportunity for these eight children, but it does not seem right that they should be used in this way to try and become part of this political showcase of power.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley is quoted as saying “FIFA has set a level playing field by giving each of us guidelines to adhere to, but we believe Australia’s credentials and our emissaries representing the young people of Australia will help set us apart and position us strongly.”
This basically confirms that these children are being used to sway voters. I wonder if Mr Buckley would have allowed his offspring to be used in this way.
Maybe we are over reacting but is seems disingenuous to make these children part of the bid process. Sure they won a competition to be there, but it seems wrong to drag children into one of the most political organisations globally and to use them to ‘help promote Australia’s bid for the 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup throughout the week as ‘emissaries.’’
Were you in Germany for the World Cup in 2006?
The curator of the National Sports Museum at the MCG is planning to have a photographic exhibition next May and June to coincide with the Socceroos involvement in the World Cup.
One theme of the exhibition which is being considered is some strong, evocative and some quirky pictures of Socceroos fans in Germany in 2006 or what was happening in Australia during the last campaign.
If anyone has any photographs from the 1974 campaign, these too would be most welcome.
If anyone has any good quality photographs that they would like to have considered for the exhibition they can email Roy Hay at haysoc@bigpond.com
This could be a brilliant exhibition and promotion for the game. You may view some of Roy’s pictures at www.sesasport.com.au then go to Archives and 6 Photographs and scroll down to the last four or five.
Lets us take every opportunity to promote football.
