Former Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive John O'Neill's assertion that Sydney should aspire to stage the 2018 World Cup final has drawn a veiled rebuke from College Street.

At its Annual General Meeting today in Gleneagles, Scotland, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has decided to put on ice goal-line technology and to stop tests in this area until further notice. Amongst others, the questions of the human aspect of the game, the universality of the Laws of the Game, as well as the simplicity and efficiency of the technology were taken into consideration.

Australia’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be an unprecedented test case for the undeclared, so called ‘war of the codes’ in this country.

For the first time in the history of football’s long struggle to gain a foothold as a relevant sport in Australian society, football actually needs the help and co-operation of its so-called rival codes to take a giant step forward.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called on state and territory governments to support Australia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Mr Rudd said the federal government would support Football Federation of Australia's (FFA) bid to bring the tournament Down Under, while acknowledging that winning the hosting rights would be a 'Herculean' task.