Australia has two home Asian Cup qualifiers in 2009, the first against Kuwait in March and then in November against Oman.

Canberra wants one of those fixtures with the ACT Government anxious to land the gig.

Sports Minister Andrew Barr told the Canberra Times: "We are in discussions with the FFA about hosting a Socceroos game and with a great stadium like Canberra Stadium, if the FFA are looking to take the game outside the major metropolitan centres, then we think Canberra would be a fantastic place to do that."

Barr said the opportunity came about because of discussions with Football Federation Australia about Canberra's bid for an A-League team.

Canberra A-League Project Manager Eamonn Flanagan told au.fourfourtwo.com today that an international fixture would be a tremendous chance for Canberra to show how much it loved its football.

He said: "I think the whole region would be very excited about the Socceroos coming to play at Canberra Stadium.

"The level of interest in football in Canberra and the region is at an all time high. I'd expect the Stadium to be sold out. This can only be a good thing for the Canberra A-League bid."

More than 5,000 fans have already pledged their support for a Canberra A-League team with the ACT having pledged $2.5m of funding.

Canberra is battling with the likes of South Coast, Western Sydney and Tasmania for a spot in the competition.