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Kuala Lumpur: Asean's proposal to host 2030 World Cup is a 'political decision' and does not meet Fifa rules, said Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

"Fifa rules state that bids must be made by the countries' respective football associations and supported by their governments.

"Governments don't direct football associations to make bids," he said when commenting on the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Lombok, Indonesia on Sunday which gave Malaysia the mandate to prepare a working paper for the bid.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said the Youth and Sports Ministry had been asked to work with FAM in preparing the working paper. Annuar said the World Cup is contested by countries affiliated with Fifa and not a grouping.

"Japan and South Korea which co-hosted 2002 World Cup fielded separate teams and not a combined team."

He said FAM would study Fifa rules and rationale for the World Cup bid as the proposed Asean football league has yet to materialise.

"How can we form an Asean team when the region's football is in shambles? Don't be misled by the AFF Suzuki Cup success that attracted millions of viewers," he added.

Brazil will host the World Cup in 2014, Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022) while the hosts for 2026 and 2030 have yet to be decided.

Meanwhile, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said Wednesday it is considering a bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

"Asean is exploring entering the competition for its 10 member states to host the Fifa World Cup, the world's biggest football tournament, in 2030," the Jakarta-based Asean secretariat said in a statement.

It said the idea was floated during an "informal discussion" by Asean foreign ministers in Hanoi in July last year and had "recently garnered a higher level of interest". "The proposal became one of the highlights" of a meeting of foreign ministers in Indonesia last week, it added.

"I am very pleased with the unprecedented level of enthusiasm across the Asean region, particularly amongst our sport communities, about the decision to explore Asean's bid to host the 2030 World Cup," Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said.

"We are still at an early stage of consultations and strategic discussion, but the advice and opinions that have been generated are most valued, and we expect the debate to continue and widen because we really learn a great deal from the public exchange." Malaysia has been asked to prepare a proposal for the competition to be presented to the Asean leaders at a summit in May, he said.

Surin said in a Twitter message seen by AFP on Tuesday the bloc's foreign ministers had agreed to file a joint bid to host the tournament "as a part of community building efforts". - Bernama/AFP