Australia to go it alone in World Cup bid

Australia are planning an ambitious bid to stage the World Cup alone after FIFA scuttled their plans to co-host the 2018 event with New Zealand.

Australia and New Zealand wanted to lodge a joint bid on behalf of Oceania but Football Federation Australia chief executive John O'Neill said the plan had already been shelved.

O'Neill said FIFA's decision to scrap the rotation system after 2014 coupled with Australia's decision to ditch Oceania and join Asia had made the bid unworkable.

"New Zealand is out of the equation," O'Neill told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday.

"FIFA won't even contemplate a cross-confederation bid. Now that we're in Asia, the argument is we can't have our cake and eat it too."

O'Neill said Australia were now planning to go it alone although he admitted China would be the frontrunner to stage the World Cup the next time it is held in Asia.

"Of course it's going to be tough, but even if we miss out on 2018 we'll be putting a stake in the ground for 2022," O'Neill said.

"We're not going to give up on this, not by a long shot. Unarguably, Australia has proven it can host major sporting events better than most countries."