Because Heather Reid knew what "the dream" was from the moment she started working in women's football. Even when she was the only one in the office at Hackett, or a female administrator in a male-dominated industry.

The dream was for Australia to host a women's World Cup and at about 2am on Friday the former Capital Football hopes there will be a roar from her Sunshine Coast lounge room. "Bring it on. Just bring it on," FFA board member Reid told The Canberra Times in a rare interview on the eve of the FIFA announcement.

"Of course there are nerves. I was part of the lobby group to get the first World Cup happening. I never imagined we'd be in a realistic position to host a World Cup in our own backyard. My challenge now is to get the butterflies in my stomach flying in formation. Hopefully there's a glass of champagne on Friday morning, because this can be a game-changer for football. It can also be a game-changer for women in sport.

"There are very few single-sport events that can match what a women's World Cup can deliver for Australia. This is something of the like we'll never see again."

The build up to the 2023 World Cup announcement in the early hours of Friday gives Reid the perfect opportunity to reflect on the bumpy road to get there. The FIFA council will start its meeting at 11pm on Thursday, with Australia's joint bid with New Zealand to host the 2023 World Cup to go head to head with Colombia.

Confidence is high. Japan's withdrawal earlier this week was seen as a major boost for the trans-Tasman proposal given the Asian votes would no longer be split.

Reid won't celebrate until she hears the news via an online stream, with thousands of football fans across Australia to stay up through the night to hopefully celebrate.

But nobody knows the journey like Reid. She was there for the "pilot" World Cup in 1988 and she's been to six of the eight tournaments since China hosted the inaugural event in 1991.

"FIFA first promised women a World Cup in 1974 and then 1975, but it wasn't until 1988 that they staged what we called the pilot World Cup," Reid said.

"That proved the women's game was worthy of a World Cup. I was the only Australian at the World Cup in 1991.

"I never thought we would host one. This gives an opportunity to educated the public about how far the women's game has come. This will unite us in Australia and highlight the power of football. This will be the world's best and we need to celebrate that."

Reid was the Australian team manager in 1984 and was on the board of Australian women's soccer. In 1986 she was the national executive director of Australian women's soccer. She was based at Sports House in Hackett as the only administrator working with a six-person board to run women's soccer in Australia. Reid, now 64, spent her time writing to FIFA lobbying for greater female representation and opportunities and organising the national team for travel and matches.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

"A lot has changed since those days. A lot has changed since the first World Cup in 1991 ... we've gone from no World Cup for women to having tournaments for senior, under-20s, under-17s and the Olympic Games," Reid said.

"We've grown from 12 World Cup nations to 32. That highlights the growth for me."

Her path eventually led her to Capital Football, where she was chief executive for 12 years before stepping down in 2016.

Reid was elected to the FFA board in 2018, but controversy and illness has led to her largely remaining silent since then. Reid stepped down from duties months into her board tenure to have chemotherapy.

She was also forced to apologise to former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic for "pain and suffering" caused to him by her comments at the time of his dismissal. The World Cup announcement is a chance to focus on the good, or at least Reid hopes it will be good news.

FIFA's evaluation report gave Australia and New Zealand a rating of 4.1 out of five. Colombia trailed on 2.8. But Australia's men's 2022 World Cup bid, and the single vote it won, is a reminder of the brutal FIFA world and unpredictability of voting blocks. Participation at the tournament will rise from 24 teams last year to 32 teams in 2023. If successful, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle and Launceston will host games in Australia.

Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin have committed to hosting matches in New Zealand. "I'll be extremely disappointed if we don't win it, but it comes down to how individuals exercise their vote," Reid said. "I'd hope some sanity would prevail.

"There will be a few tears. And if we don't win it, it might be another 20 years until we get this chance again. I don't know if I can make it to 84 years old. I've spent 40 years working hard to create opportunities for women and girls in the game, and to build on those opportunities.

"I can't miscount my time at Capital Football for the whole of the game ... there's the FFA Cup and the men's NPL is going from strength to strength.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I've been to six World Cups, I'd love for that seventh one to be closer to home. Bring it on."