October 26, 2010: Beckenbauer Praises Australia Bid for 2022 World Cup

Former World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer, now a member of FIFA’s executive committee that will vote on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, backs Australia’s bid to organize the 2022 event. “Australia was a perfect host for the Olympics,” Beckenbauer says. “They know how to handle these big events. The football World Cup—it’s even bigger than the Olympics because it’s more cities, it’s more spectacular than the Olympics—I think you can do it.” He adds: “Australia has shown the world many, many times that [they] can handle these big events. There is no doubt that Australia can host the World Cup and organise the World Cup.” [Fox Sports, 10/26/2010] Beckenbauer does not specifically say he will vote for Australia, but it seems likely that the one vote it will get is from him (see Around 2:30 p.m. December 2, 2010).