New Zealand have hosted both the Rugby World Cup and the Cricket World Cup on two occasions, proving their capabilities at staging major tournaments. However, the country much like the entire Oceanic continent has been ignored when consideration for the FIFA World Cup hosting duties has been on the agenda.
It’s all the more surprising as Qatar secured the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup ahead of the United States and Australia along with others. The Arabic nation does not have a strong sporting infrastructure or a proud history when it comes to competing at the highest level in major events. It remains to be seen whether the World Cup will be a success, especially as it is being played for the first time during the winter in the northern hemisphere rather than the summer months.
New Zealand are backed as 1000/1 outsiders to win the competition in 2022 in the football betting odds, although they have to qualify first, which has been a challenge in their past two attempts losing to Mexico and Peru in the final playoff stage. One of the benefits of hosting the World Cup is the automatic spot in the competition that the country receives without having to endure the qualification process. Russia used it to their advantage to surge through to the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, providing great entertainment across the globe, but more importantly to their fans that were packing out stadia across the nation.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/wya-ZBo8f-0″ frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
It could provide the same boost to soccer in New Zealand to increase participation in the sport. The Kiwis are seen as a nation of rugby players due to the brilliance of the All Blacks, while the Black Caps cricket team is not bad either featuring the talent of Kane Williamson.
Football does not have the same hold, but a World Cup could change that perspective, although a lot of work would be required to improve facilities across the country to fulfil the hosting specifications. Eden Park is the only stadium in New Zealand that holds a capacity of 50,000 spectators. To host a World Cup final, an 80,000-capacity stadium is required, while 60,000-seater venues are needed to stage the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
New Zealand is not short on stadia due to the number of elite teams based in the country, but out of the 16 available – only four would meet FIFA’s requirements for the group stage, while none would be suitable for the quarter-finals and beyond. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround to boost those capacities and funding is made available – New Zealand will not be hosting the FIFA World Cup any time soon.
The infrastructure in the country is well suited for hosting a major tournament given its popularity as a tourist destination. There are no shortage of hotels, while the environment and climate are perfect for meeting the demands of the thousands of fans that attend the FIFA World Cup. Given FIFA’s dream to deliver the competition to all corners of the globe it would be a shame for New Zealanders to miss out, but there could be another way of securing the tournament.
In three of their past hosting duties for the Rugby and Cricket World Cups, New Zealand have shared the tournament with Australia. It would present a challenge for FIFA given that the two nations would need automatic places in the competition. However, the tournament would be unique and between the two countries, there are ample venues to host teams, while Australia provides the huge stadia required for the semi-finals and final in the form of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
It would be a bold decision, but it appears that FIFA are not afraid to make those given their choice of handing the competition to Qatar. Therefore, World Cup games in New Zealand should be a possibility in the future.
