26 Jan 2009(Mon)

January 23, 2009: The more the JFA talks about the 2016 Olympic Games, the less chance they have of hosting the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

I don’t see why the two are linked, and feel that a successful Japan bid for the Olympics would actually have a detrimental effect, rather than a positive one, on any bid for the World Cup.

In other words, the international sports community would be reluctant to give the 2018 or 2022 World Cup to Japan so soon after the country had hosted the 2016 Olympics. The rest of the sports world would not allow this to happen.

Regarding the issue of the main stadium, Japan could easily turn the vast Nissan Stadium in Yokohama into an 80,000-capacity arena by adding 10,000 seats where the running track is now. It would improve the venue no end, reducing the distance between pitch and fans and make for a better atmosphere.. The Yokohama F Marinos supporters have the hardest job in the J.League trying to create some “buzz” for home games, even when there are 20,000 in the ground – still less than one-third full.

There is absolutely no need for Tokyo to win the 2016 Olympics for Japan to boast a new stadium capable of meeting FIFA’s requirements for the main venue. And they have enough other stadiums already in place to hold the World Cup, so they would be better off trying to sell this point to the football community rather than keep talking about the Olympics and the new stadium that would bring.

Personally, I feel Japan should hold fire on submitting a bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup by FIFA’s February 2 deadline.

Surely the 2018 World Cup will go to Europe after a gap of 12 years, as demanded by TV and sponsors after South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014.

Japan might have a chance of winning the bid for the 2022 World Cup, but that would be only 20 years after the joint venture with South Korea in 2002 and there would be other strong candidates. Australia would be my choice for 2022, but the United States, China and even Qatar – with all their FIFA influence – would be in with a big shout.

No, I feel Japan should stay out of this one.

They have enough on their hands managing an increasingly cluttered calendar and developing the game at grassroots level without the added burden of an expensive World Cup bid. And a bid, I feel, that would be doomed from day one.

ends