Australia’s bid to win the rights to host the 2018 World Cup has been boosted by the news that rival rugby league and Aussie rules stadia will be utilised.
The inability to use the AFL and NRL stadia during June and July- right in the middle of their seasons- was understood to have been a major sticking point to the Australian bid, but according to Australian press reports, the rugby and football codes have offered a compromise solution, with the MCG in Melbourne being used by the World Cup with the Telstra Dome remaining in use for the AFL.
Under the plans, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium and Sydney's ANZ Stadium as well as the Sydney Football Stadium will be used to host World Cup matches whilst Newcastle and the Gold Coast are also being considered as possible match hosts.
FFA chief executive, Ben Buckley, told reporters: "We've put a fairly substantial submission forward to the Federal Government. There's work going on behind the scenes in terms of organisational planning, tactical planning, technical planning, so we’re very happy with where we're at."
Other countries set to bid for the tournament include China, England, Russia, United States, Spain, Qatar and Mexico, with a combined bid from the Netherlands and Belgium.
