Joko Driyono, acting secretary general of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), has said the body is seeking to lead a Southeast Asian bid for the 2034 edition of the Fifa World Cup.
In February, the chairman of the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF), Zaw Zaw, revealed that the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) bloc had held talks about bidding for the showpiece national team tournament of football’s global governing body.
The event has only been held in Asia on one previous occasion, when Japan and South Korea co-hosted in 2002. Driyono has said the possibility of an ASEAN bid would be discussed between the relevant national bodies and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) in September, with the PSSI keen to lead a proposal.
Driyono said, according to the Indonesian edition of the Goal.com news website: “Indonesia will host the AFF Council Meeting as well as the AFF Awarding Night on 23 September 2017 in Nusa Dua Bali. This will involve the discussion on Indonesia’s bid for the 2034 World Cup.
“Indonesia will act as the consortium leader in Southeast Asia, and will discuss the consortium bidding for the tournament. It has been processed as the final bid will be made in 2026.”
He added: “The 2034 World Cup is important so that Southeast Asian nations may quickly improve their facilities. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the 2034 edition will be contested by 48 nations.
“Why 2034? This is because there is an informal rotation policy among the six continents. After Africa, it had gone to Brazil, and then Asia. If this continues, the following turn for Asia will be the 2034 edition.”
The World Cup will be contested by 48 teams from the 2026 edition onwards, and Fifa president Gianni Infantino has stated that hosting rights for future editions of the event could be split between up to four countries to handle the extra games. To date, the 2002 World Cup is the only event to have employed a co-hosting system.
The 2018 World Cup will take place in Russia, with Qatar to play host in 2022.