Lucas Neill of Australia (C) poses with John Boultbee, FFA Chairman Frank Lowy, CEO Ben Buckley and Phil Wolanski after winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifying match between the Australian Socceroos and Japan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
That is the argument mounted by Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Frank Lowy, who is confident Australia will win the right to host the coveted event in either 2018 or 2022.
Lowy said Asia's status as the world's fastest growing economic region and a developing sporting landscape should help persuade soccer's world governing body FIFA to capitalise.
"We are able to show that bringing the game to Australia and having the Asian continent with us at the same timezone will benefit not only Australia, not only Asia, but the whole football world," Lowy said at a Melbourne Victory business lunch on Wednesday.
"Because the income that's been projected for the television rights and other income will be larger than if they go anywhere else.
"... Nobody can offer what we can offer.
"We are the backyard or frontyard for Asia, we know how to stage big events and the audience that is going to watch us, I think it's two thirds of the world audience that is going to watch us, and that of course can be translated into dollars and cents."
The other countries bidding for one or both of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups - to be decided in December next year - are Spain and Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Russia and the USA.
But Lowy said Australia offered the sport an unrivalled development opportunity.
"Asian development in sport is such that if the World Cup comes to this part of the world then I think they will be able to cash in and sort of monopolise with football, because the other sports haven't taken off yet," he said.
"If you look at America, it's a great country, a great sporting nation, but football can get nowhere, everything is occupied already, television rights, and it's the same story in many other parts of the world.
"So I am confident, I believe we are entitled to one of those two World Cups, hopefully 2018."
Lowy said it would provide an "unbelievable" boost for soccer in Australia.
"From the moment Australia is announced as the host for a World Cup the interest level in football here will go through the roof," he said.
"This will be a nation-changing event ... it will shine the international spotlight on us like never before."
Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy says Australia's place in Asia will play a key role in the nation winning the right to host soccer's World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
LOWY says with a timezone that suits a huge potential Asian audience, a World Cup in Australia will enable the sport to reap more money than can be delivered by rival bidders and tap into a developing sporting market.
Hosting rights for the two World Cups will be decided in December next year.
