2015 Asian Cup set to head Down Under

dibo · **Joined:** Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:27 pm **Posts:** 1398

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 15,00.html

Quote:

Asian Cup set to head Down Under

By Tom Smithies
May 27, 2008

AUSTRALIA'S football hope to get confirmation this week that their bid to host the 2015 Asian Cup finals will be approved, giving the game a huge boost as it lays the groundwork for a World Cup bid for 2018.

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley told a sponsors' lunch last week that Australia believed it was the only bidder for the 2015 tournament, and an Asian Football Confederation spokesman has confirmed that is the case.

No formal decision will be made by the AFC until shortly before the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

But the AFC spokesman said that an announcement might be made in November next year, and FFA officials hope to hear something concrete - at least privately - this week, with the AFC top brass in Sydney for the FIFA Congress.

That would cap a frenetic period for the FFA, whose two-day coaching conference continues today, with FIFA's annual parliament beginning on Thursday with a lavish dinner at the Sydney Opera House.

Several key decisions are expected from FIFA, and it is thought that Australia will not be granted the Club World Cups for 2009 and 2010 for which it has bid.

An announcement is expected on Tuesday after the FIFA executive committee meets in Sydney.

But the 2015 Asian Cup finals would give the game in Australia a huge boost, attracting thousands of fans from regional heavyweights such as China, Japan and Korea.

Australia's bid is not beleived to specify in detail where each game will be played, but it is thought to point in general terms to the quality of the country's sporting and tourist infrastructure.

Based on the last Asian Cup, it would be a 16-team tournament, played in four groups of four before advancing to quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

There has to be a minimum of four stadiums used, but not necessarily in four cities, and it's likely that all the games in a certain group would be played in the same or nearby locations to avoid fans having to pay for constant travel.

ANZ Stadium and the Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, the MCG and Telstra Dome in Melbourne, and Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium are the obvious candidates.

fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap...

Simmo79 · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 2:41 pm

This is good news for the rectangular codes as it would put some pressure on stadium upgrades (Perth) or completely new ones (Adelaide). But by and large hardly any new infrastructure is required as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane already have the stadiums in place as do Canberra, Gosford and the Gold Coast. Newcastle has the funding in place (at least I think they have enough).

So what else is needed?

beastjim · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 5:03 pm

If they really wanted to they could just do an east coast set up with out going any more west then Melbourne or more inland then Canberra. Could be like a group for Brisbane/Gold Coast, a group for Sydney, a group for Melbourne and a group for Canberra/Newcastle/Gosford or even the gong for a game?. With only four groups it might start to get hard to share it around even further. That said if Perth and Adelaide have the facilities they shouldn't be ignored.

So maybe a Perth/Adelaide group, a Melbourne/Canberra group, a Sydney/Central Coast/Newcastle and a Brisbane/Gold Coast even looking for game in Townsville.

Now say stadium WA was only partially done ie about 3/4 done in the stage where they would be bulldozing Subi. Could the stands still be bought it? I would think not but maybe the mechanisms that would allow that would be built and it could happen. Just a hypothetical to finish it all off.

forever MCG · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 6:22 pm

Each major metro area (i.e Sydney, Melbourne, South-East Queensland) plus (2 out of) Canberra/Newcastle/Adelaide should have a group each. The major games in Melbourne could be played at the MCG, with the smaller matches at MFS. Similar set-ups in Syd & SE Queensland; with ANZ and Suncorp hosting 3 big matches and SFS and Robina Stadium the 3 smaller games. Games equally distributed b/w 2 stadiums in group 4.
Thats 8 stadiums in total, with Adelaide or Newcastle being the only venues in which redevelopment would occur. It is significantly more than minimum stadia, but a good dress rehearsal for possible WC.

hot_dogma · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 7:12 pm

Tasty!

Waz · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 9:24 pm

lol @ the fapping...

I seriously think that hosting the 2015 Asian Cup would damage any hope we had of hosting the 2018 WC, as no country gets 3 big tournaments within 3 years of each other (Asian Cup, Confed cup, WC). Surely this would mean we'd only be bidding for 2022?

Jeffles · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2008 11:04 pm

Waz wrote:

lol @ the fapping...

I seriously think that hosting the 2015 Asian Cup would damage any hope we had of hosting the 2018 WC, as no country gets 3 big tournaments within 3 years of each other (Asian Cup, Confed cup, WC). Surely this would mean we'd only be bidding for 2022?

Realistically this is probably a better path. A 2018 bid with no record of hosting senior football tournaments across the country would be a weak bid. If we get runs on the board with a tournament like the Asian Cup, we'll have a better shot at the World Cup (not that I think we're a snowball's chance in hell of hosting it - just a point about the credibility of a bid).

I hope we get this gig. It's a good stepping stone. On the same day we hear of Newcastle's upgrade this is the sort of gig it will be in the running to host.

Simmo79 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:49 am

the mail over the weekend is that Darth Blatter has indicated that Oz isn't likely to get 2018 and a bid at 2022 would be more appropriate. So, a well-run 2015 Asian Cup might be useful. (Personally, I don't think Oz has much chance at being awarded any WC).

Dasher39 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 02, 2008 12:52 pm

A well-run 2015 Asian Cup will have f*ck all effect on our chance of getting either 2018 or 2022 give that both World Cup's will likely be announced at the same time (March 2011).

I'm excited by the prospect of the 2015 Asian Cup though, I think it will be brilliant. I'd like to see us involve the whole country, even though there are only 4 groups. Obviously distance and travel makes that a little tougher, but it would be good nonetheless.

Here is a rough plan I drew up some months ago (note: I used the 2007 Asian Cup teams and dates for reference):

Quote:

Group A
Cities: Melbourne and Sydney
Iraq
Australia
Thailand
Oman

Australia vs Iraq – MCG – 7th July
Thailand vs Oman – Sydney Football Stadium – 8th July

Australia vs Thailand – Telstra Stadium – 12th July
Oman vs Iraq – Melbourne Rectangular Stadium – 13th July

Australia vs Oman – MCG – 17th July
Iraq vs Thailand – Sydney Football Stadium – 16th July

Group B
Cities: Adelaide and Perth
Japan
Vietnam
UAE
Qatar

Vietnam vs UAE – Hindmarsh Stadium – 8th July
Japan vs Qatar – Members Equity Stadium – 9th July

UAE vs Japan – Hindmarsh Stadium – 12th July
Qatar vs Vietnam – Members Equity Stadium – 13th July

Japan vs Vietnam – Hindmarsh Stadium – 16th July
UAE vs Qatar – Members Equity Stadium – 17th July

Group C
Cities: Gosford and Newcastle
Iran
Uzbekistan
China
Malaysia

Malaysia vs China – Bluetongue Stadium – 10th July
Iran vs Uzbekistan – EnergyAustralia Stadium – 11th July

Uzbekistan vs Malaysia – EnergyAustralia Stadium – 14th July
China vs Iran – Bluetongue Stadium – 15th July

China vs Uzbekistan – Bluetongue Stadium – 18th July
Iran vs Malaysia – EnergyAustralia Stadium – 18th July

Group D
Cities: Brisbane and Gold Coast
Saudi Arabia
Korea Republic
Indonesia
Bahrain

Indonesia vs Bahrain – Suncorp Stadium – 10th July
Saudi Arabia vs Korea Republic – Skilled Park – 11th July

Korea Republic vs Indonesia – Suncorp Stadium – 14th July
Bahrain vs Saudi Arabia – Skilled Park – 15th July

Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia – Suncorp Stadium – 18th July
Korea Republic vs Bahrain – Skilled Park – 18th July

Quarter Finals
Australia vs Japan – Suncorp Stadium – 21st July
Iraq vs Vietnam – Aussie Stadium – 21st July
Korea Republic vs Iran – Melbourne Rectangular Stadium – 22nd July
Saudia Arabia vs Uzbekistan – Hindmarsh Stadium – 22nd July

Semi Finals
Iraq vs Korea Republic – Aussie Stadium – 25th July
Australia vs Saudi Arabia – MCG – 25th July

Third Place Playoff
Iraq vs Saudia Arabia – Suncorp Stadium – 27th July

Final
Australia vs Korea Republic – Telstra Stadium – 28th July

Games per Stadium
Sydney Football Stadium - 4
Telstra Stadium - 2 (Sydney total games: 6)
Melbourne Rec Stadium - 2
MCG - 3 (Melbourne total games: 5)
Suncorp Stadium - 5
Skilled Park - 3
Hindmarsh Stadium - 4
Members Equity Stadium - 3
EnergyAustralia Stadium - 3
Bluetongue Stadium - 3

Now that's not perfect. Not many people like the idea of Melbourne and Sydney sharing a group, and I can see the merit in each city hosting it's own group. But if you were to do that you couldn't involve the whole country, which is what I wanted to do.

There is also the option of using the Telstra Dome rather than the MCG for the big games in Melbourne, as the MCG might simply be too big. Melbourne was given two of the three Socceroos group games because Sydney had the final.

But I like the fact that games are spread around the whole country as it ensures no one is left out. There may be some minor works required on Hindmarsh and MES to bring their capacities up, but apart from that all venues are already in place and ready to go.

mattwinter · **Posted:** Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:23 pm

Dasher39 wrote:

A well-run 2015 Asian Cup will have f*ck all effect on our chance of getting either 2018 or 2022 give that both World Cup's will likely be announced at the same time (March 2011).

But I like the fact that games are spread around the whole country as it ensures no one is left out. There may be some minor works required on Hindmarsh and MES to bring their capacities up, but apart from that all venues are already in place and ready to go.

I don't see why groups need to be split up like that - and I don't think Gosford and Newcastle should have a group to themselves. This is what I would do:

Group A (involving Australia)

Game 1 - (Australian Game) Melbourne
Game 2 - Sydney
Game 3 - (Australian Game) Brisbane
Game 4 - Sydney
Game 5 - (Australian Game) Sydney
Game 6 - Newcastle

Group B
- Melbourne/Adelaide (4 in Melbourne, 2 in Adelaide)

Group C
- Brisbane/Gold Coast/Newcastle (two games in each)

Group D
- Perth/Adelaide (4 in Perth, 2 in Adelaide)

Quarters
- Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide

Semis
- Brisbane, Melbourne

3rd Place:
- Perth

Final
- Sydney

By Venue: (Group games, knockout games)
Sydney - 3,2
Newcastle - 3
Gold Coast - 2
Brisbane - 2,2
Melbourne - 5,2
Adelaide - 4,1
Perth - 4,1

I think 7 venues would be more than enough.

Waz · **Posted:** Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:44 pm

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Egan · **Posted:** Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:17 pm

MES does not meet FIFA standards, thus it would be at the Super Stadium. It is very questionable it would have been finished. So you can easily have a group in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane...

2015 Asian Cup set to head Down Under

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