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This Week in AsiaSociety

Southeast Asia’s football World Cup 2034 bid: this time for Asean, or just a pipe dream?

  • News of the bloc’s bid for the 2034 World Cup has been met with incredulity by some
  • But while costs and infrastructure will be tough to tackle, the idea might not be such a long shot

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Denmark versus France at the Fifa World Cup Russia 2018.
Ignatius Koh
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo might have retired, but in the not-so-distant future, their successors could be lighting up stadiums in a part of the world that has never played host to soccer’s biggest stage – Southeast Asia.
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That’s right, the World Cup may well be on its way to the region, after Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Asean countries (the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei) would submit a joint bid for the 2034 tournament.
Initially, the news was welcomed by Asean Football Federation (AFF) president Khiev Sameth, but, according to Singapore’s The Straits Times , Asian Football Confederation general secretary Windsor John was less convinced. He said he “did not know about the joint bid” and still did not know if “it is serious or not”.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Asean summit. Photo: EPA-EFE
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Asean summit. Photo: EPA-EFE

Meanwhile, Thai news website Matichon’s reader survey also brought less than convincing results, with 70 per cent of respondents disagreeing with the idea of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hosting the 2034 event, citing more urgent issues.

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Southeast Asia may have a huge appetite for soccer, but some experts said the region needed more stadiums, motorways, airports, train stations and some good old Asean solidarity before it could even consider hosting a World Cup.

“Asean countries are different from each other. Some are not ready for a big project like a World Cup – they need to build stadiums and make sure facilities for players and fans are well-equipped,” said Surachai Jaturapattarapong, technical director of Thai League 1 side Bangkok Glass.

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