AFL and NRL are the top sports in Australia at the moment. Not soccer. It's growing, but its not up there yet, and until it is, we can't justify paying millions to host the World Cup. They are multi-million dollar industries, with a lot of people and a lot of money invested in them. Shutting them down for a Soccer World Cup doesn't make sense.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind soccer, played it for years, but it doesn't have the same passion and intensity behind it in Australia as either the AFL or NRL. And yes, Australia is ranked 19th in the world - but until the sport grows in comparative popularity (which it is slowly heading towards) this shouldn't even be up for discussion.
As for being just 'bogans', that's crap. The people of Australia obviously love the games, otherwise they wouldn't still be played. AFL Grand Final had something like 2.7 million viewers - surely they can't all be 'bogans'??
Again, being business industries means that businesses have a vested interest in the comps running (advertisers, suppliers, club sponsers). If they're involved in business at that level, obviously they hope to be attracting more then just 'bogans'. How do you compensate for any losses sponsers sustain as a result of hosting the World Cup??
Like I said, doesn't make sense.
