The World Cup could be heading Down Under…
Australia has officially set its sights on a potential 2034 World Cup bid after Football Federation Australia confirmed discussions have been held with Indonesia.
The two Asian countries have held talks about making a joint bid for the tournament with Australia previously failing in their bid to secure the 2022 World Cup.
“Football Federation Australia confirms it has held discussions with the Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) about the possibility to jointly bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup,” the FFA said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
“An Indonesia-Australia joint bid was also discussed at last week’s ASEAN Football Federation Council Meeting in Laos.
“FFA welcomes the opportunity to further discuss a ASEAN bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup with fellow Member Associations in the region.”
Australia’s interest in a potential bid comes in the wake of several Southeast Asian nations expressing their willingness to host the 2034 tournament.
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei were all linked to that potential bid with Australia now seemingly keen to throw their hat in the ring.
With Qatar hosting to 2022 World Cup, 2034 is the earliest an Asian country could again host the tournament.
Australia’s attempt to host the 2022 edition fell well short with the nation receiving just one vote in initial voting back in 2010.
Qatar ultimately edged out a bid from the United States to host the tournament with the Middle East nation’s bidding process coming under heavy scrutiny since.
After falling short for the 2022 World Cup, the US will host the 2026 edition alongside Canada and Mexico with 48 nations set to be invited to compete at the tournament.
Looking further ahead, three confirmed bidders have stepped forward for the 2030 World Cup in the form of Morocco and joint bids from South America and Europe.
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