The Anzac hosting of the 2023 Women's World Cup might be good news now, but if every card continues to be played correctly and smartly it ought to be absolutely fabulous news in three years' time.
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Given FIFA's past record and our previously unrewarding interactions with soccer's international governing body, Australia and New Zealand as joint bidders should have had no expectations until their names as hosts were proclaimed by Gianni Infantino early on Friday morning.
Even though the margin of nine votes (22 to 13) has enthusiastically been reported by the Antipodean media as emphatic, it was really nothing of the sort. For there is every indication that internal politics plays as big a role in FIFA as it did not too long ago in the bad old days - just in a slightly different way.
While much as been trumpeted about there now being 37 votes, and transparent ones at that, in FIFA's decision making - the reality is that there were only seven. And not all those seven votes were equal. What was fortunately equal is that the rules which prevented New Zealand's member Johanna Wood from voting was balanced out by their also being a Colombian on council.
Despite all the fanfare about the new order, FIFA's six regional bodies each voted as a block. The Anzac victory was secured with the support of its own confederations - Asia (seven votes) and Oceania (two) plus Africa (seven) and North and Central America and the Caribbean (five) and Infantino's personal vote as president.
Europe's nine votes including most controversially England's and the other bidding nation Colombia's home confederation of South America (four) were against.
If the North Americans had voted as a bloc the other way the Trans-Tasman bid would have lost 17-18, and if it had been the Africans we would have been down the gurgler 15-20.
So for all the carry on to the contrary - it was in fact the narrowest of victories.
In the North American scenario the win could have been saved by England's vote departing from the European caucus. This is why those who contend that the decision by England not to support two of its most loyal former dominions was irrelevant is fallacious.
It's a disgrace - and flies in the face of a history of mutual support in these matters over a century, the only exception being of course when both were contenders in a bid.
Perhaps the Aussies and Kiwis can take some solace in the knowledge that another traditional pact between the Latin countries was broken during the same process when Spanish-speaking Cuba and Panama voted against Colombia.
But that's all old news now. Assuming there's no enquiry into some skulduggery the organisers can get on with the job.
This next bit will be easy compared to what has been and will come after.
Australia and New Zealand sport has superb event organisational skills. Their individual and joint hosting records of sporting tournaments are without peer.
The two nations will do this in a canter. In any case it can't be too hard to prepare for 30 players and a handful of officials to engage with a bag of balls and two scoring nets for 90 minutes at a time. Even having to do it 60 or so occasions should be a cinch.
It's the capitalising on this opportunity that is the big challenge for the football federations of both countries.
These chances don't come along often. It's hard to imagine when in soccer a moment in time quite like this will again eventuate.
Right now it's easy for the pundits to trot out lines such as that which suggests the Matildas have been surveyed as the most popular team in Australia.
But go back and ask each respondent to name three members of the team other than Sam Kerr and it could be quite a different outcome.
Hosting the World Cup provides a special platform to change this. And Football Federation Australia has three years to do it.
Along with its Kiwi counterpart, FFA must seize the moment and build on retaining the huge cohort of kids playing the game as well as engaging more with the significant supporter base of overseas football.
One almost certain outcome if this is done well is that the Matildas will replace the Socceroos as the default national football team.
That's an exciting - and potentially intimidating challenge.