For the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Rio Games, the Socceroos and Australian team "now have a place to call home: Vitoria," according to Sebastian Hassett of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The capital of the state of Espirito Santo, just over 400km up the coast from Rio de Janeiro, has a population of 327,000. The city was first identified by the Australian Institute of Sport, which has spent recent years searching for a base for its athletes "to prepare for the 2016 Olympics close to the host city." Out of all of the potential South American sites, Vitoria "offered the right mix of elite facilities and civic infrastructure" -- in addition to a hospitable climate -- "to host those Olympics athletes looking for a pre-Games training base." Even before the Socceroos qualified for the World Cup, the AIS "passed on its positive experiences of the site to Football Federation Australia." Since then, the FFA "opened negotiations with Espirito Santo government and football officials to host the Socceroos next June." A deal for them to be based in Vitoria was finalized months ago but could not be "officially completed until the draw was released and new coach Ange Postecoglou had inspected the city and proposed training base" (SMH, 12/8).
