Australia, NZ consider joint bid for 2029 Club World Cup

SYDNEY – Football Australia (FA) chief executive James Johnson believes that Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup is going to be a big success and is mulling a joint bid with New Zealand to host the second edition in 2029.

Both countries will co-host the

Women’s World Cup in July and August

and Johnson has already said that could be a springboard for a joint bid for the men’s version, possibly in 2034.

Turning his attention to the first edition of the

expanded 32-team Club World Cup,

the brainchild of Fifa president Gianni Infantino which will take place in the United States in 2025, he said that he was convinced it would take off.

“It’s going to grow, over the years,” Johnson, who worked under Infantino at football’s world governing body Fifa until 2018, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Gianni really grew the Champions League at Uefa, he knows what it takes to do that. To one day have the best club teams coming to our shores (would be) only good for Australian football.

“That’s something we could look at, as well as the men’s World Cup – but that’s (after) we’ve delivered the best-ever Women’s World Cup.

“Ultimately, if we go for another major tournament, my philosophy is we’ve just got to focus on what we do well.”

Currently involving only the six confederation champions and a team from the host nation, the Club World Cup, in its present format, has struggled to make inroads.

Infantino is hopeful that a high-profile makeover of the tournament will change things for the better.

The last edition of the Club World Cup featuring seven teams will be hosted by Saudi Arabia in December. The expanded edition will take place every four years.

The ninth Women’s World Cup kicks off in Auckland and Sydney on July 20.

Like Johnson, New Zealand Football (NZF) chair Johanna Wood believes that both federations have gotten much closer throughout the whole process of organising the World Cup.

“There are going to be multiple opportunities for collaboration around co-hosting moving forward,” she added.

“We are working a lot more closely. I talk with my counterpart Chris (Nikou), and I know that Andrew (Pragnell, NZF chief executive) and James are in constant contact.

“We’re always sounding out what we can do together and that will only strengthen.” REUTERS