But the Asian Cup, to be held in January in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane, could provide just as many headaches given the duration of the tournament - three weeks -  and the teams that have qualified.

Australia will play host to representatives from countries in the world's worst troublespots.

Iran and Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have all qualified for the competition.

While not all are involved directly in the conflict with Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, reports suggest that wealthy individuals from nations like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are at the very least tangentially involved in providing finance for differing factions in the gruesome war.

In addition, North Korea, a volatile neighbour of South Korea (which has also qualified) will be there: the hermit kingdom has always provided its own special diplomatic challenges for both East and West.

And Palestine - which is involved in an ongoing and bitter conflict with Israel - has made it to a major soccer tournament for the first time in its history.

The Palestinian cause has attracted support in the Western world, and there has to be some kind of possibility that anti Israel demonstrators may use the team's  presence in this country to further political aims.

Sports administrators like to always say that sport and politics don't mix, but history suggests this is not the case.  .

Asian Cup organisers are not saying much about it, but they are acutely aware of the possibility that extremists supporting some of the more militant groups in the Middle East may try and use the tournament as a vehicle for protest - especially since some of the factions in the region have urged actively targeting Australia and Australians for violence.

It's the downside of hosting a major international competition, particularly at such a sensitive time in world affairs.

Michael Brown, the chief executive of the Australian organising committee for the Asian Cup, acknowledges that the threat of terrorism or disruption is real.

"Obviously it's a priority," he said. "The world has some difficult challenges at the moment, and we are sympathetic to everybody who is going through those in so many different ways.

"What we are saying to the countries who are coming is this. Australia is renowned for its multicultural heritage. Some 25 per cent of our population is born overseas.

"We have great passion for the game. We will do everything we can feasibly do to ensure this event is secure and successful.

"We have amazing support from all the agencies at federal government level. They will manage all of those things at border security. We will work closely with state governments' local police and there's a very strong behind-the-scenes security program.

"We live in difficult times, and we have seen in Australia very sad occasions of people choosing to do what supports their means. All we can do is take every step possible to ensure the safety of the participants and the spectators."

Australians should be aware that we are not immune to extremism that can adversely impact on our way of life, but equally we should not elevate the risk to the extent that we fear enjoying big events that bring joy to millions.

Ultimately, an event like the Asian Cup must be seen as a showcase of the best of humanity - players, supporters, officials and politicians must all be on their game.