The painful memory of the failed 2022 World Cup bid may still linger but not enough to deter Football Federation Australia, which has declared its intention to lead a joint south-east Asian bid to host the 2034 tournament.
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An ambitious plan for Australia to co-host the tournament with Indonesia is already underway with the two countries in the preliminary stages of forming a joint bid that will be submitted to FIFA.
"FFA is in very early discussions with the Indonesian Football Association about a joint bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. We welcome the opportunity to explore this further with other football associations in the region," FFA chief executive David Gallop said. "A FIFA World Cup in south-east Asia would be a wonderful event in a populous and passionate part of the football globe."
The talks have centred around Australia and Indonesia co-hosting the tournament but it's understood there is a strong chance a third south-east Asian nation could form part of the bid. FFA and PSSI, the Indonesian football governing body, unveiled their plans to bring the 2034 tournament to the region at last week's ASEAN Football Federation summit in Laos. It gathered considerable political support, according to sources close to the discussions.
The United States, Mexico and Canada successfully won the rights to host the 2026 World Cup across all three countries while Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile have launched a joint bid for the 2030 tournament. There is support for a similar mass bid from south-east Asia to bring the World Cup to the region for the first time, meaning the likes of Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia or potentially the Philippines could join the Indonesia-Australia bid. Timor Leste, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos are the other members of ASEAN but wouldn't likely have the facilities required to host a major FIFA tournament.
There is still plenty of time for the bid to be finalised, with no date set for the vote for the hosting rights of the 2034, which will be at least another six years away.
The Sydney Morning Herald understands the Australian government has already been informally notified of the plan while the Indonesian government is already backing a bid that could have broader benefits for the relations between the two neighbouring countries.
It's understood a joint bid with regional neighbours will allay many of the concerns that will surface in light of the disastrous 2022 World Cup bid, which cost taxpayers more than $45 million and delivered Australia only one vote from FIFA's executive committee.
That voting process was mired in allegations of corruption after Qatar controversially won the hosting rights, prompting major reform for FIFA. The tournament's hosting rights are now voted on by all FIFA members, not just the executive committee, limiting the threat of collusion or corruption.
While the World Cup has been expanded from 32 to 48 participants, a joint bid will be considerably more affordable with at least two countries sharing the costs, reducing the cost of government funding.
The distance will be a difficult hurdle to overcome, however the travel between Indonesia and Australia is similar to the flying time between 2026 co-hosts Canada and Mexico.
Previously, Australia was rumoured to be forming a partnership with New Zealand to host a World Cup but that is unlikely. The two countries are not part of the same international football confederation, making it difficult within the realms of global football politics. FFA has ramped up its interest and involvement within Asian football, in particular within south-east Asia. The Socceroos are seeking entrance into the Suzuki Cup, the ASEAN football competition.
