Oceania & Australia consider 2018 bid

Oceania and Australia are considering a joint bid to stage the 2018 World Cup, Australian officials said today.

John O'Neill, the chief executive of the Football Federation of Australia (FFA), said Oceania would present their proposal to FIFA at this weekend's Congress in Morocco.

Oceania and Africa are the only FIFA confederations never to have staged the World Cup, although South Africa will host the tournament in 2010.

South America is due to stage the tournament in 2014 but there is still no decision on 2018.

"In 2006 the Cup is in Europe, in 2010 it's Africa, 2014 will be South America, and in 2018 it's our turn," O'Neill said.

"(The OFC) are prepared to put us up as host, with some matches to be in New Zealand."

O'Neill, who was in charge of organising the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, said the bid was reliant on FIFA approval as Australia were planning to leave Oceania and join the Asian Football Confederation.

Meanwhile, Australia beat the Solomon Islands 2-1 in the second leg of the Oceania final in Honiara overnight to safely progress to the last stage of World Cup qualifying.

The Australians finished 9-1 ahead on aggregate after winning the opening leg 7-0 in Sydney on Saturday to advance to a play off against the fifth-placed South American team in November.

Australia have won the last four Oceania titles only to be beaten in play-offs by Scotland (1990), Argentina (1994), Iran (1998) and Uruguay (2002).

The only time they reached the World Cup finals was in 1974.