Magazine - MCG 'in the dark' Over Cup Plans

By Editor in A.F.L on 7th Dec 2009 20:20

MCG boss Stephen Gough has urged Football Federation Australia to "hurry up" and say exactly what it requires from the stadium in any soccer World Cup bid.

Gough said the MCG was in the dark over claims that if Australia hosted the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, organisers could require exclusive access to the nation's biggest stadium for four months. He said the MCG had not been given any firm timeframe from bid organisers about how long the stadium would be needed to prepare it for a World Cup.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has suggested any 16-week requirement for the MCG to be out of action for a World Cup could lead to his competition being cancelled for that season. "There's been speculation on how the MCG might be used but we don't really know exactly what it might be," Gough said. "Those discussions with the AFL are crucial first, then I imagine we come in as part of that. "We need to hurry up. If you want to get the bid documented, you need to talk to the AFL and you need to talk to us in parallel to make sure we're right behind it."

It is understood the MCG may need to be refitted in a rectangular configuration to host matches, which would mean the addition of seating and perhaps a bigger delay than first anticipated. The MCG is contractually bound to host AFL games during the winter months, and any World Cup would need to rely on goodwill from the code to proceed.

Gough said the MCG had never been configured in a rectangle - the closest parallel he could draw being when a running track was established around the ground for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. "That was part of the bid works so you knew early, so that work was just incorporated into the normal building process - it didn't have any impact at all," Gough said. "But this would be a different situation given the time of the year."

FFA boss Ben Buckley moved to allay concerns and said nothing had been finalised. But he said the MCG would not be out of action for as long as Demetriou is suggesting.

"Let's put it into perspective - the tournament won't happen for another nine years or possibly 12 to 13 years, so I am sure we have time to work through them."

Source & More: www.abc.net.au

Read more articles in A.F.L, by Editor or from December 2009.