The Pros and Cons of Indonesia's 2018 World Cup Bid

Indonesia's bid to host the World Cup 2018 comes as a suprise for many. The All Indonesian Football Federation made history when they were the first Asian side to qualify for a World Cup, playing as the Dutch East Indies, in 1938. Indonesia has since failed to qulify for the World Cup. Here are the Pros and Cons of Indonesia's attempt to host the World Cup.

PROS

Indonesia is centrally located. It is in relative close proximity to India, China, Indo-China, and Australia. The country has a large population (240 Million), and FIFA could capitalize on a successful World Cup that might establish Football there as the number one sport. In 2004, Vision Asia, a strategic development plan envisioned by AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam, has been introduced to Indonesia to assist them in elevating football standards in the country. A World Cup and an automatic qualification to the World Cup for the Indonesian National Team might speed up this process and could help establish Indonesia as a competitor. The Indonesian Super League is very popular and will be expanded to 36 Clubs, which are playing for the Championship in two divisions. This means that there is a league structure in place that could benefit from new Stadiums and that there is also a fan base that would support a World Cup. Japan one of the two Asian competitors for 2018 World Cup has the handicap that it staged the World Cup in 2002. China at the first glance seems to be the better candidate for Asia, but China looks fragile during the current financial crisis. China also has the problem that its local league is full of corruption, and the 2008 Olympics in China also showed that Human Rights are not helped in China by staging a top event there.

Cons

Although the country's playing population numbers more than five million, the country's footballing development has been hampered by its unique geography. The country is split into 17,508 Islands, and is ethnically very diverse. The ethnically make up of Indonesia has let to violence over the recent years, and the World Cup could become a target for terrorist groups, who a fighting for more rights or independence. Indonesia's National Team is also not very strong and the danger is that the host nation would be eliminated early in the competition. Another problem is that Indonesia would be the third developing country in a row to host the World Cup. South Africa (2010), and Brazil (2014) are both developing countries and FIFA might opt to give the World Cup to an established nation. There is also the prospect of China, who is also applying for the 2018 World Cup. Sepp Blatter the head of FIFA has stated several times that he would like the World Cup to be staged in China at some point. Furthermore, Europe which is Football's largest market would then have been without a World Cup for 16 years. England has put in a bid for the 2018 World Cup and the chances a high that the motherland of Football will get the competition.

Summary

I personally believe that a World Cup in Indonesia would be a fabulous idea. The country co-hosted the Asian Championships, which can be called a success. Now it is time for Indonesia to prove that they are a Football nation, let them have the World Cup both FIFA and the region can only win.