PETALING JAYA (18 May 2013) – His Royal Highness Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah’s proposal for ASEAN countries to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 has received positive reception from several quarters.
Ong-Arj Kosinkar, the general secretary of the FA of Thailand (FAT) said that they are very receptive to the idea of ASEAN taking up the hosting job and if it is agreeable by all parties, they intend to put up a ‘Road to the World Cup’ plan as early as next year.
“After hearing the plans from the FA of Malaysia (FAM) of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2034, we are excited of the prospect of ASEAN co-hosting the tournament,” said Ong-Arj.
“But I think that we should also work closely with other countries in ASEAN like Vietnam and Indonesia. We need to look at the exact mechanism of hosting whether it is good if just two or several countries take up the hosting job.”
In the meantime, newly-appointed Malaysian Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin added the proposal for ASEAN to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 needs detailed planning.
“It is a good idea and I believe that the plan will only get more serious,” added Khairy. “We need to do proper planning as while the idea may come from the FAM, the government will also have a big part to play in terms of providing infrastructure.”
