As the President of the English FA, Prince William voted against Australia, knocking us out in the first round of our bid to host the 2022 Football World Cup. JD Lang comments.
Prince William: if you want to be Australia's King, why did you vote for South Korea against Australia for Football's 2022 World Cup hosting rights?
After an invitation by Australia's Prime Minister, the beleaguered Windsor family has leapt at the opportunity to indulge themselves in a spot of Australian PR – under the guise of "comforting flood victims" – by sending Prince William here for a 4-day tour.
Of course, being an official tour, it will be 'uncomfortably' be paid for by the Australian taxpayer. Presumably out of the $1.8 billion flood levy Australian taxpayers will soon be paying off out of their paypackets each week.
On the positive side, it will give the Australian media a good chance to ask William just why he betrayed Australia and Australians by voting against this country – for South Korea, of all places – in the first round of the vote for which country would host the 2022 World Cup.
From The Guardian, Saturday 4 December 2010:
In a race where everyone needed something to trade, England – isolated without any natural alliances – could offer only one vote to trade. Thompson – honest and respected to some, invisible and ineffective to others – was insistent that he would not offer his vote to multiple bidders, as others clearly did.
Even here things went awry. Thompson agreed a pact with Chung Mong-joon that would see England support South Korea in the 2022 race, for the first round at least. It was sealed over a whisky with the prime minister and Thompson delivered his side of the bargain.
(Note the comment by the journalist: "England – isolated without any natural alliances"—is that how fondly the English feel about us?)
William, as President of England's Football Association, bears ultimate reponsibility for England's vote. He could have voted for Australia but, of course, he didn't. Dutifully – and treacherously – he voted against Australia, breaking Australian hearts.
Shame, William, shame!
[VIDEO: How about a head of state that supports Australia at sport?]
Australia attracted just one vote – Germany's – in the first round and was immediately and humiliatingly knocked out, despite having one of the best and most highly regarded bids. The World Cup eventually, and laughably, went to sweltering alcohol-free Qatar.
With William's vote, Australia would almost certainly have made the second round and, who knows, may have gone on to win the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
We will never know.
Thanks William. Thanks very much. Mate.
Seeing Andrew Windsor floating around the world promoting British trade – in his own controversial fashion – and seeing William Windsor plumping for England in the arena of sport, we need to ask ourselves:
Why do these people continue to lord over us?
And why are we paying for them to condescendingly pat the heads of battling Australian flood victims?
If William wants to help, ask him for a donation.
The days of forelock tugging are long gone.
They have no love for us, let's break the shackles and move on.
Australian Republic.
