The new Football Federation Australia board is ramping up its involvement with Asian football, beginning with a push to have the Socceroos included in the 2020 Suzuki Cup, the biennial South East Asian Championships.

After spending the past five years largely as a sideline member of the ASEAN Football Federation, the FFA confirmed it will seek entrance for its senior national team into the region's biggest international football tournament which attracts bumper crowds and major regional TV audiences.

Current Suzuki Cup champions: Vietnam. EPA

As part of their entrance agreement in 2013, the Socceroos weren't permitted to play in the Suzuki Cup (formerly known as the Tiger Cup) due to their perceived superiority in playing standards.

However, as the region endures a rapid rise in technical standards, the FFA believes it is now time to push for inclusion into the tournament now that the gap between Australia and the bigger ASEAN members is shrinking.

Australia progressed no further in the 2019 Asian Cup than reigning Suzuki Cup champions, Vietnam, who were also eliminated at the quarter-final stage.

Initially discussions have already taken place around the Socceroos potentially joining the 2020 Suzuki Cup which will take on a new two-legged, knockout format, with each nation apart from Timor-Leste hosting their own games.

While at a very early stage, it's understood the FFA is looking at a range of options to ensure the involvement in the Suzuki Cup wouldn't overshadow the competitive balance of the tournament, not limited to age restrictions on their squad.

"Part of our evolution with our relationship in ASEAN is to now look at the Suzuki Cup which traditionally has been felt that we were too strong for, but as many of those nations increase their playing strength and taking into account Australia’s ability to be a key commercial rights market, it’s certainly worth exploring," FFA chief David Gallop said.

Sources suggest those talks have already reached federal government level, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is understood to be supportive of having Australia's national team engage in competitive fixtures with several of its nearest and biggest trading partners.

The tournament is a major drawcard for the region with average attendances at 29,000 for last year's edition. In 2016, more than 34 million Indonesians watched the tournament along with 11 million fans in Vietnam alone.

Aside from gaining acceptance from the 11 other competing members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam - there remains a small stumbling block of scheduling potentially conflicting with some A-League fixtures.

The Socceroos had previously been considered too strong for the regional tournament. AP

While some games will be held across international windows, there is the potential others will fall outside of international dates that could cause a club v country row.

"It will throw up challenges in terms of clashes with the A-League season," Gallop said.

The push to gain entrance into the Suzuki Cup is one of the first steps of the new board's renewed interest with Asian engagement.

New chairman Chris Nikou is looking to become the first FFA chair to be appointed on to the Asian Football Confederation executive committee. He has been nominated as one of the six ASEAN representatives to make-up the AFC ex-co, with the vote to be held on April 6.

“During my time as FFA president I am determined to place a stronger emphasis on our engagement in Asia and I believe I can play a meaningful role in helping AFC achieve its vision to be the world’s leading confederation, to ensure Asian teams succeed on the world stage and to make football the number one sport throughout the continent," Nikou said of his nomination last month.

Former FFA board member Moya Dodd is the only previous Australian to sit on the AFC executive committee.