Sydney - Australia plans to bid to host the World Cup in 2018, officials meeting in Canberra said Friday.
Prime Minister John Howard has backed the bid, which would be led by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA).
'It's the largest sporting event yet to be hosted in Australia, and the Socceroos' performance in Germany has generated enormous interest and support for the game,' state and territory leaders said in a joint statement.
'We look forward to assisting the FFA's development of a World Cup bid through discussion and planning around a range of issues, including infrastructure, facilities and security,' the statement added.
Howard blessed any FFA campaign to be named host of the world's biggest sporting event, promising the federal government would 'do everything we can collectively to help it come to a successful conclusion.'
Australia is 33 on FIFA's world football rankings, promoted nine places after the Socceroos were among the last 16 in the World Cup in Germany. Australia is now the top-ranked Asian nation, ahead of 2006 World Cup under-performers Japan, South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Australia qualified to play in Germany as an Oceania country but is now in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
FIFA president Sepp Blatter welcomed Australia's shift to the AFC, saying it could be the fillip the region needs to lift the profile of the game.
'Perhaps the arrival of the Socceroos, of the Australian football, they will bring some new incentive to Asian football,' he said in Germany earlier this month.
AFF chairman Frank Lowy met Blatter in Germany and received support for Australia's World Cup bid. Also supportive was Mohamed Bin Hamman, the Qatari who heads the AFC.
The next World Cup will be in South Africa. Under FIFA's rotation system, the host in 2014 would be a South American country. Europe also has hopes of being the venue for the 32-team tournament in 2018.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said the state and federal governments were gung-ho about a bid for the 2018 tournament. 'We have got a solid and strong case,' Bracks said. 'It's going to be very competitive.'
Bracks even projected that the final would be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the iconic venue for the 1956 Olympics and this year's Commonwealth Games.
'Where else could it be?' he asked.
An alternative, of course, is Sydney's Olympic Stadium, purpose-built for the 2000 Games.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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