The OPSMC, which opened in 1987, is just the 32nd centre worldwide to receive the honour. FIFA chief medical officer Professor Jiri Dvorak said the OPSMC deserved the recognition.

"I am very happy to be in Melbourne for the first accredited FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in Australia," he said.

"This is a very well established and respected medical institution.

"The aim of the worldwide network of FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence is to improve the healthcare of football players and other athletes at every single level of the game through knowledge."

Football Federation Australia director Jack Reilly said it was a major honour, one which would ensure players received the best treatment.

"Australia has a strong knowledge base in sports science and I welcome FIFA's recognition of the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre," he said.

"The development will help Australian football stay at the leading edge of FIFA's global network of medical expertise."

An Australian Crime Commission report into drugs in sport in the country said use of prohibited substances was 'widespread'.

Prof Dvorak said he had 'no doubts' it was not an issue in football, citing FIFA's education programs.

"The strategy in FIFA is very clear – to keep the sport free of doping. We do everything to prevent that. The most important is the education of the youth," he said at the ceremony.

"We educate them that not a single drug could make a footballer like a (Lionel) Messi, a better footballer. There's no way that you can do that.

"There is no place for any drugs in football and we have no evidence that there would be systematic doping in football."

Meanwhile, Reilly said he wanted Moya Dodd to be appointed to the FIFA executive committee in a 'short period of time'.