Having secured their place at South Africa in 2010, Football Federation Australia chief Frank Lowy is attempting to persuade members of the Asian continent to back Australia’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Lowy, who has overseen the reinvention of the game down under in recent years, is competing with fellow bids from rivals Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Qatar following Australia’s move from the Oceania confederation.

Lowy said: “The world football pendulum is moving this way. We are on the threshold of a historic and exciting era in which Asia will supercharge the growth of our game, not just here but around the world. Within this historical context sits Australia, a country with a largely European heritage but now very much part of the region of Asia.”

Lowy also pointed to the country’s successful hosting of the 2000 Olympics along with several Rugby and Cricket World Cup’s to their capability of staging such a huge event.

“A World Cup in the Asian region would secure the future of football in the region as well as give FIFA and its commercial partners the opportunity to generate maximum revenues,” he said. “In the critical next 10 years or so we have a historic opportunity to entrench football as the mainstream sport in this fastest-growing region of the world.”