ASEAN eyes FIFA World Cup, single visa

The 10 ASEAN members will lodge a bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030, with the governments set to join forces with the soccer associations within the grouping to prepare. In a related development, the grouping has also discussed ways to implement a unified ASEAN travel visa to ease travel within the region for citizens of non-ASEAN member states, a prerequisite for jointly hosting a World Cup.

“We are serious with our plan to bid for hosting the 2030 World Cup. We will take the necessary steps, including pooling our resources and engaging the football association as a respective member for that goal,” Indonesian Foreign Ministry director general for ASEAN cooperation Djauhari Oratmangun said.He said ASEAN foreign ministers, who will meet here on Tuesday, will discuss the issue so that members could take concerted efforts to quickly prepare for the bid.

The World Cup is the world’s most widely viewed sporting event. For instance, an estimated 715.1 million people worldwide watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup Germany. The 2010 championship was held in South Africa, the first in the continent, while the next three events will be in 

Brazil in 2014, RussiSecuring a venue:

a in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.The 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, was the first held in Asia and the only tournament with multiple hosts. 

Djauhari said Indonesia’s proposal to enable ASEAN to have a single visa has been well received by other members. “The single visa for non-ASEAN members will boost visitors and the tourism industry. How can we jointly host a World Cup without having a single visa?”Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa earlier said there were some challenges to the idea. 

“We want countries outside ASEAN to see this organization as a single place to visit. We have to consider the laws and rules of each country. Besides, we are still learning what effects may come from the ASEAN visa, as far as safety and politics,” he said, adding that the concept of a joint visa system will resemble the Schengen visa system used by some European countries.

Most ASEAN countries have been issuing free visas for visitors from other member countries since 2005. Of the 10 members — Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia — only the last three have yet to implement the visa-free policy.

Some media outlets have reported that the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA), consisting of ASEAN member tourism bodies, has said they have been busy lobbying their respective governments to adopt a single visa policy valid as a critical step in developing ASEAN into a single tourism destination.

ASEANTA vice-president Elly Hutabarat said the idea of a single ASEAN visa has received widespread support from the governments of the association, but has encountered problems in moves toward implementation due to varying immigration and visa policies among the 10 countries.

Source - thejakartapost.