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ndonesia'€™s Youth and Sports Ministry has poured cold water on the idea of ASEAN countries proposing to host the World Cup, the globe'€™s biggest soccer competition, in 2034.

'€œHonestly, it is too early to talk about the [bidding] plan now,'€ the ministry'€™s spokesperson Gatot S. Dewa Broto told The Jakarta Post over the weekend. He said Indonesia in particular would need to increase its soccer talents to world standards.

The idea was first proposed at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Sports (AMMS) in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 13. Representatives from the ten participating countries were reported to have agreed to conduct a feasibility study in their bid to jointly host the event.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste.

According to the Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who led the meeting, ASEAN has less than four years to finalize the study and present it to their respective governments.

Jamaluddin was quoted by Malaysian newspaper The Star as having said that four countries would play host and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) would handle the organizational plans through relevant soccer associations.

During a forum attended by editors grouped under the Asia News Network (ANN) ASEAN in Jakarta last week, deputy secretary-general for community and corporate affairs AKP Mochtan raised the issue, pointing out the need to carry out thorough preparations and feasibility studies.

The joint bidding would be part of the region'€™s soft diplomacy on important emerging global issues, using soccer as the perfect conduit thanks to its popularity.

Apart from being disinclined to the idea, Gatot saw an opportunity for Indonesia to be picked as one of host countries.

'€œThe idea came from the Malaysian youth and sports minister. It is significant because at least we could have the opportunity [to host the event],'€ he said.

Hosting the world'€™s quadrennial soccer gala had been have been exclusive to European and South American countries before Africa and Asia got their chances recently. Japan and South Korea co-hosted the event in 2002 before South Africa became the continent'€™s first county to become a host in 2010.

After the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the event will be back to Europe with Russia as the host in 2018. Qatar will have its turn four years later, making it the third Asian country to host the event.

The fact that no ASEAN country has ever quailed for the World Cup is something that would be taken into account by the feasibility studies.

'€œWe all will conduct a feasibility study,'€ he said, adding that from an economic perspective, most ASEAN countries are ready to host such a huge sporting event.

Gatot said that the willingness to conduct the feasibility study would be a new step for Indonesian soccer.

'€œWe all know that Indonesia in the old days liked to boast that it would bid to host the World Cup. This time around, all ASEAN countries have agreed to share roles,'€ he said, adding that Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Palembang were among match venue location options.

Prior to the 2019 deadline, all ASEAN sports ministers are set to attend another ministerial meeting in Myanmar in 2017.

The idea has come at a bad time for Indonesia, which is currently serving a FIFA ban from taking part in international competitions.

Indonesia incurred the FIFA suspension in the wake of a crisis in which the sports ministry froze the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) following the latter'€™s refusal to exclude two '€œlegally-flawed'€ clubs from the Indonesian Super League.