Australia to push 2018 World Cup bid despite Blatter's comments

Australia will press ahead with a bid to host soccer's 2018 World Cup despite an indication from FIFA head Sepp Blatter that the tournament will probably be held in the northern hemisphere.

Australian Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said Blatter was "being a bit cute" when he suggested FIFA would likely stage the 2018 tournament in the northern hemisphere, after holding the 2010 tournament in South Africa and the 2014 event in Brazil.

"I think the comments from Sepp Blatter were just a little cute because the tradition with the World Cup historically has been that the World Cup alternates," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"In the most recent iteration, we've had the European World Cup in Germany and the next one's in South Africa in the southern hemisphere, so that's effectively disrupting the pattern," Tanner said.

The Australian government has set aside 60 million Australian dollars (US$57 million; euro37 million) to fund a World Cup bid that will be guided by the Football Federation of Australia, he said.

Blatter told a news conference after FIFA's 58th Congress on Friday in Australia that, "the World Cup would not be played on the same continent twice in a row."

Tanner said ultimately the final decision on which country gets the World Cup isn't Blatter's alone.

"He doesn't make the decision. He's an influential player but he doesn't make the decision," he said.