The FIFA Executive Committee, meeting in Tokyo on 19 & 20 December, agreed that bidding nations could submit appliations for either the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2022 FIFA World Cup or for both tournaments.

"This is a welcome decision from FIFA," Buckley said. "Hosting the world's biggest sporting event in Australia would be a wonderful opportunity for Australia and for the Asian region."

An independent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates the economic impact of Australia hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is a $5.3 billion increase in GDP and a cumulative employment effect of 74,000 jobs.

"At the last FIFA World Cup in Germany, the largest group of televisions viewers was from Asia and it is a large and increasingly popular sport around the region."

Buckley also said that FIFA had brought forward the decision-making timeline on the hosts for both tournaments to December 2010.

"This is very exciting news also. All of us involved in the Bid to bring the World Cup to Australia are encouraged by this decision.

"We look forward to the support of all Australians - whether at home or living overseas - as we count down to decision day which is now only two years away.

“Bidding for the World Cup, and winning it, is an investment which will pay dividends for the entire nation and generations to come," said Buckley.