Australia are to make a formal application to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Currently a member of the the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), Australia have made the request to FIFA.
The Football Federation Australia (FFA) confirmed it has been in talks with FIFA since late last year and also with the AFC with a view to switch from the OFC.
“For some time now, the FFA has had an objective to join AFC,” FFA chairman Frank Lowy said in a statement Thursday.
“Our current affiliation leaves Australia in an anomalous situation in a football sense.
“It is encouraging that the three key football organisations, FIFA, AFC and OFC, have now progressed their deliberations on the subject.
“We are very pleased that these relevant bodies have indicated a sympathetic view to our position.
“Of course, there is the need for formal procedural matters to be attended to by FIFA, AFC and OFC over the coming months and recent media reports indicate that the FIFA Executive Committee recently discussed the subject.”
The president of the Asian Football Federation, Mohammad Bin Hamam, welcomed the Australian move.
“We sympathise with the request and will discuss it at the next executive committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur on the 23th of March,” he told AFP.
“In principal we have nothing against it because the switch will benefit football worldwide”.
“Australia is in a continent where it cannot improve due the big gap with other countries in this continent and the move will be in our common interests”.
FFA chief executive John ONeill said the move would revolutionise domestic football.
“It will go a long way towards transforming football in Australia, as we move from a domestic competitive environment into an exciting, dynamic, regional one, which will contribute to the improved competitive position of the game at all levels, particularly national team and club,” O’Neill said.
