Speaking exclusively with au.fourfourtwo.com, the Aussie boxing great said hosting either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup was about bringing the nation together - not dividing it.  

And the one-time world champion and football fan has implored Frank Lowy's team to stay focused over the next 12 months as they fight to host the biggest sporting event on the planet.

"Do whatever you can to get it here, and we'll surprise the world," was Fenech's message to Lowy and his team today.

Fenech added: "100 percent - it's time that we came together as a nation. We come together when something bad happens to our nation, let's come together when something great's going to happen."

Fenech - a 2002 inductee into boxing's International Hall of Fame and a three-time World Champion in three or more weight divisions - added that the World Cup was important in providing positive role models for the next generation of Aussie kids.

"Any great sporting event that can help our country and teach kids to play sport rather than sitting in front of computers is great for our country," he said.

"They said Tim Cahill was too small but look at what he's done - we need heroes. He's one of those [heroes]. Tim's a good friend of mine."

Fenech's point was echoed last week by Rugby League star Brett Kimmorley.  The former Melbourne Storm Premiership player and now the Bulldogs has urged competing codes to set aside their "egos" and come up with a solution to fit in a FIFA World Cup.

Kimmorley suggested staging NRL double-headers would be one way to get around venue shortages.

And he said he would love to see the World Cup in Australia, saying it offered the potential for thousands of international visitors to experience Australia's full range of football codes.

"With the thousands of people in Australia watching the World Cup, maybe we can tap into that market and get those people to our games as well," Kimmorley said.

"At the moment there are a couple of egos clashing over who is the dominant sport. They're saying, 'We'll tell you what we're doing', rather than, 'Let's come together'."

The AFL has been vocal in its concerns over Australia hosting a FIFA World Cup. Their fears were expressed in correspondence from CEO Andrew Demetriou to FFA CEO Ben Buckley on November 24.

Last week, when Buckley returned from South Africa - a trip which included an apparently successful week of bid spruiking by the FFA along with the World Cup draw ceremony - Demetriou went public with suggestions the AFL season might have to be cancelled to accommodate the World Cup.

It caused an outcry leading to a number of other AFL identities - such as Collingwood president Eddie Maguire and his counterpart at Hawthorn Jeff Kennett - expressing similar concerns since.

The AFL letter to the FFA expressed "extreme disappointment" with football body's apparent lack of information on the implications of the World Cup on the AFL and their clubs.

They also questioned how the FIFA Confederations Cup - traditionally played in the World Cup host country a year before the big event - would impact on the AFL's scheduling. The letter also posed further questions, such as:

1. Is it a requirement of the World Cup that no AFL matches can be played in cities hosting World Cup matches for the duration of the World Cup in those cities?

2. Is the AFL competition going to be asked to shut down for 10 weeks to accommodate the World Cup? Given the location of our clubs in the five mainland capital cities, Geelong and from 2011 the Gold Coast, can you please advise what FIFA/FFA is demanding to stage the World Cup and what the precise impact will be on AFL venues in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Geelong, Canberra and the Gold Coast?

3. Has the FFA proposed, or planning to propose that the MCG be redeveloped at a cost of $130 million for the World Cup and be unavailable for AFL matches for 16 weeks in the year of the World Cup?

4. Is FIFA/FFA planning to take over the AFL offices for the duration of the World Cup and if so, for how many weeks?

5. Is FIFA/FFA planning to take over the offices and training facilities of AFL clubs so that they can be used by countries participating in the World Cup?

6. We have read media reports indicating that the FFA estimates that the economic impact of the World Cup in Australia would be some $5.4 billion. In your financial modelling of the World Cup in Australia, have you factored in the impact in the $3.4 billion Australian football contributes to the Australian economy each year if the AFL competition is forced to shut down for 10 weeks and is banned from using the MCG for 16 weeks?

7. Specifically, has the FFA/FIFA budgeted or are you planning to budget to compensate the AFL and its clubs for any loss of revenue for accommodating the World Cup?

8. Is it the intention of FIFA and or the FFA to ask the Federal Government to legislate so that FIFA/FFA can take over venues for the World Cup, the AFL offices and the training and administration bases of AFL clubs so that they can be used by teams competing in the World Cup and to prevent other major sporting competitions playing matches during the period of the World Cup?

An AFL spokesman told ABC Radio a letter from the FFA responding to Demetriou's letter was received but, "[it] didn't contain either the detailed information on the impact that a World Cup would have on our season, or the clarification that we were seeking over the use of Etihad Stadium that we were initially told in November 2008 that would remain with the AFL.

"We are still waiting to be informed on how we can run a season concurrently with a World Cup."

While the cross-code bickering continues, Fenech has reaffirmed his belief that football's biggest tournament deserves to be hosted in Australia.

"It'd be far out," he said. "Soccer is such a worldwide sport - everybody I know loves soccer. All my friends watch soccer.

"And Tim Cahill is a great friend of mine - so it'd be great."