SYDNEY (Reuters) – Football Australia (FA) chief James Johnson believes 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.
Australia and New Zealand will co-host the Women’s World Cup in July and August this year and Johnson has already said that could be a springboard for a joint bid for the men’s version, possibly in 2034.
The first edition of the expanded 32-team Club World Cup, the brainchild of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, will take place in the United States in 2025 and Johnson said he was convinced it would take off.
“It’s going to grow, over the years,” Johnson, who worked under Infantino at 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.”
The last edition of the Club World Cup featuring seven teams will be hosted by Saudi Arabia later this year. The expanded edition will take place every four years.
The ninth Women’s World Cup kicks off in Auckland and Sydney on July 20.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Michael Perry)
