Australia and Indonesia are exploring the possibility of a joint bid to host the 2034 World Cup after officials from FFA and their Indonesian counterparts discussed the bid during the Asean Football Federation Council meeting in Laos last week.

“Football Federation Australia confirms it has held discussions with the Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) about the possibility to jointly bid for the 2034 Fifa World Cup,” FFA said.

“An Indonesia-Australia joint bid was also discussed at last week’s Asean Football Federation Council meeting in Laos.”

The FFA statement comes days after the Thai prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, said 10 countries from the Asean bloc, including Indonesia, would bid for the tournament at a news conference in Bangkok on Sunday.

African powerhouse Egypt is also reportedly contemplating a bid.

FFA said it noted the joint South East Asian bid was endorsed at the Asean summit.

“FFA welcomes the opportunity to further discuss a Asean bid for the 2034 Fifa World Cup with fellow member associations in the region,” the statement added.

Australia failed in its bid to host the 2022 tournament, which was won by Qatar, and has already launched an official bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2023.