THE joint Asean bid, which sees Malaysia as a key player for the 2034 World Cup hosting job, has got a timely thumbs up from Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino’s show of support during the Asean Summit in Bangkok on Saturday, comes as a boost to the FA of Malaysia (FAM).
The Fifa chief said he was pleased with the region’s plan to bid for the 2034 World Cup as Southeast Asian countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with football’s world body to jointly develop the sport.
The goals of the MOU are to boost investment, capacity building and education for football in the region.
“After some decades of discussions between all the Asean countries, finally, we found the one topic that unites everyone. It’s this, it’s football,” said Infantino.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Amin said he feels encouraged by Infantino’s stand on the Asean bid for what many fans called the Greatest Show on Earth.
“We thank Infantino for supporting the Asean bid. What’s happening now is that Fifa are consolidating the Asean nations,” he said yesterday.
“But as to which country will be hosting and other matters will be fine-tuned closer to the date.
“FAM support this idea to make a joint bid for the World Cup.”
Hamidin said FAM will proceed to work with their Southeast Asia counterparts as the government has shown its support for the World Cup job.
FAM secretary general and Asean Football Federation alternate council member Stuart Ramalingam said: “We are well aware of Fifa’s intentions in the region (referring to the MOU)
“In regard to the World Cup bid, it’s a long process that requires the involvement of many stakeholders and hopefully the whole of Asean can get together to join the bid and work with their governments when necessary.”
With Infantino’s latest support, the Asean bid for the World Cup is gaining momentum, making them serious contenders.
In retrospect, when Qatar announced their bid to be the 2022 World Cup host 10 years ago, few people took them seriously.
However, Qatar, a tiny desert nation with a population of 2.6 million, managed to convince many of Fifa’s 211 members that they could do the job.
As the World Cup becomes bigger and more costly to host, many countries have resorted to teaming up as joint hosts.
In fact, the 2026 World Cup will be jointly organised by Canada, the United States and Mexico. For the first time in history, three nations will combine to host the World Cup.
From 2026, the World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams. More teams and more nations as joint hosts. That seems to be the trend.
Infantino is known for his enthusiasm in bringing the World Cup to different geographical regions, and Southeast Asia is starting to look ready for the quadrennial event.
Southeast Asia, with a big population of 641 million, has a growing economy and many of its peoples are football crazy. Hence, it will be a popular choice with Fifa’s sponsors. And for football tourists, the famed beaches, cities, culture and food will offer a lot of kicks.
Asean, expected to face competition from China, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Australia for the 2034 World Cup hosting job, have that X factor to clinch the deal.
Last month in Manila, Asean nations held a ministerial meeting on sports, and it was decided that five countries, Thailand, Malayisa, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam will actually be part of the bid.
The five nations will establish a “technical working group” led by Thailand in developing the Asean bid.