The world cup bid was probably one of the biggest errors for Lowy. Not the substance of the big (which was dreadful) but wasting time attempting it. It was never going to happen, he didn't pay off enough people, and they dropped the ball running the Aleague trying to win the bid.
I'm skeptical getting to host it would do what we want. People would be interested in the event. It would be 2000 Sydney Olympics level interest. But it would be one off. Eg what is the legacy of the WWC? Very little, interest in the Matilda's has waned and I expect it drop off further as this generation retires. When I talk about being mainstream, really I mean club football, local clubs and football culture being embedded in the culture. I don't see a lot of translation between the WC and club football. It seems like maintaining the current mainstream culture and just allowing a small football sugar hit (similar to EPL sides playing here) then back to the regularly scheduled codes.