YOKOHAMA, Japan, 30 June — Asian football chief Peter Velappan will urge China to mount a bid for the World Cup in 2014, it was reported here yesterday.

Velappan said the success of the 2002 finals in Japan and South Korea should lead to a swift return of the World Cup to Asia — with China the outstanding candidate.

Under FIFA’s plans to rotate the tournament among the five confederations, Asia will in theory have to wait until 2018 before it stages the greatest sporting show on earth again.

But Asian Football Confederation General Secretary Velappan believes the fact that the details of the rotation system have yet to be ironed out could open the door for China.

“Our next hosts will be China,” Velappan said in an interview published with the Asahi Shimbun.

“China will stage the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2003, the Asian Cup in 2004, and the Olympic Games in 2008. So I think 2014 would be the perfect time for China to make a serious bid for the World Cup,” said Velappan.

Velappan said he would urge China to start laying the groundwork for a 2014 bid when he met officials next month.

“I am having a meeting with the Chinese Football Association next month and will encourage them to bid for the World Cup in 2014. By that time, China will be a real economic power, and the consumer spending and buying power will be high.

“They will have the stadiums and the infrastructure, and it would be taking place in a passionate football country of 1.3 billion people. It would also be a great attraction for foreigners to go to China.

“By that time, China will also be a member of the World Trade Organization.”

The 2006 World Cup will be held in Germany, with the 2010 tournament expected to go to Africa. Velappan said the only other contenders to solely host an Asian World Cup would be Iran and India.

Another outside alternative would be a co-hosted event in Southeast Asia.

“Six years ago, not many people in FIFA believed it (co-hosting) could work but it has been a wonderful experience. So we could have a situation where Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and even Vietnam could come together.

“After all, the major cities are all within two hours of each other, much closer than in the United States and also here. But again they would have to improve their national teams and then you have a problem of how many teams can qualify automatically.”