Having joined the AFC at the start of 2006, Australia were keen to stage the region's showpiece event at the next available opportunity.

However, their hopes were dashed when it was confirmed that the hosts would be selected on a rotational basis and that only a country from either west or south Asia would be eligible for 2011, with Qatar, Iran and India subsequently submitting bids.

But the AFC amended that policy during last week's congress, stating: "In future, if a particular zone which is eligible to host a tournament declines or fails to satisfy AFC hosting requirements, the Executive Committee will have the final decision to choose the replacement zone to be given the right to host the tournament."

That means the door could be open once more for Football Federation Australia to launch a bid to host the tournament in four years' time if the submissions do not meet the AFC's approval, something they would be quick to take advantage of.

"If the rotation policy changes to the extent that we would be in a position to bid for 2011, then we would be very eager to do that," said Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley.

"We believe we could put a very convincing bid forward."

The 2007 tournament is being co-hosted by Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia and gets under way on July 7.