3 February 2023
Ref: DOIA 2223-1344
Mijail Linares
Email: [FYI request #21452 email]
Tēnā koe Mijail Linares
Thank you for your email of 19 December 2022 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following information:
1. All official documents signed by any member of the Ministry, as part of the bidding process to
host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
2. Please provide a copy of all email communications, if any, between New Zealand Major Events
and New Zealand Football, relating to the submission of the bid to host the tournament.
3. Please provide a copy of all email communications, if any, between New Zealand Major Events
and the Ministry of Sport, relating to the submission of the bid to host the tournament.
4. Please provide a copy of all email communications, if any, between New Zealand Major Events
and the office of the Prime Minister, that relate to the submission of the bid to host the
tournament.
5. Please state the precise amount of financial contributions the New Zealand government will
contribute to this tournament and what is the precise source of it, within the Budget of New
Zealand’s government. If this figure has had any changes from its inception, can you please
describe these changes in chronological order and explain the reasons for the revision?
Please answer the following questions:
1. As far as the Ministry is aware, who initiated the decision to submit a bid to host the
tournament?
2. As far as the Ministry is aware, was the decision to enter a bid for the tournament ever opened
to public debate? If not, why? If it was, please describe the extent of this effort?
3. What members of the Ministry, if any, were involved in drafting the 188 page document known
as the bid book?
4. What were the documents provided by the Ministry, as part of the submission of the bid book?
Wherever possible, please provide of copy of these documents. If that’s not possible, please state
why.
5. Did New Zealand Major Events commissioned any study related to hosting the tournament? If
so, please provide a copy of it.
On 27 January 2023 we contacted you to invite you to narrow the scope of the request in order to reduce
the number of correspondence so we could provide you with the relevant information. You provided the
following information in your response:
Specifically, I am seeking email that contain information on the following:
•
Communication between government officials, FIFA representatives, and other
stakeholders regarding the decision to enter New Zealand as a host of the FIFA World
Cup.
•
Discussion on the potential benefits and drawbacks of hosting the World Cup in New
Zealand
I am writing to advise you that after taking the above information into consideration, MBIE intends to
provide you with a response, but will need to extend the time available to answer your request in full. We
aim to provide you with a response by 4 April 2023, if not sooner. In addition, to manage the scale of the
request we will send the information to you in several tranches as comprehensively and frequently as
possible.
The reason for the extension is that your request necessitates a search through a large quantity of
information and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with our operations.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further assistance,
please contact
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of our decision to extend the
time limit. Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Kylie Hawker-Green
Manager Major Events
Major Events
