Indonesia revealed last week that it was in talks with Australia, Malaysia and Singapore over potentially bidding to host the tournament in 11 years.

However, those plans have now been scrapped with the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) instead throwing its support behind Saudi Arabia and turning its attention to bidding for an edition after 2034.

"Indonesia supports Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup," PSSI President Erick Thohir wrote in a statement.

"On the other hand, Indonesia continues to prepare itself for bidding for the next World Cup for the Asian zone after 2034 and other FIFA competitions."

Indonesia’s decision to pull out clears the path for Saudi Arabia to gain the full support of AFC members.

A deadline of October 31 has been set by FIFA for the 2034 World Cup and only countries from Asia and Oceania are eligible to bid for the tournament.

The AFC Congress was held in Kuala Lumpur yesterday where the organisation's President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa underlined the support within the continent for the Saudi Arabian bid.

The AFC said it was "a clear and unwavering sign of Asian unity and solidarity" that members were behind "a single bid from Saudi Arabia".

FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke at the meeting where he called on AFC members to be "united for the 2034 World Cup", as reported by the Associated Press.

"There is enough division already all over the world," said Infantino in a video message.

"We have occasions to send messages of unity."

Saudi Arabian Football Federation President Yasser Al Misehal, a member of the FIFA Council, claimed that his country’s bid had received global support.

"It’s always known that Asia is always united," said Al Misehal.

"We have been overwhelmed by a huge number of supporting letter, announcements from all ove the world.

"This puts a big responsibility on us to really deliver a successful bid."

The World Cup has been long coveted by Saudi Arabia, so the Kingdom's bid was already relatively advanced, with the country announcing last month that it was ending its interest in jointly hosting the 2030 tournament with Egypt and Greece to focus on 2034 instead.

Saudi Arabia will host the Asian Cup in 2027 and if awarded the World Cup will inevitably face criticism for sportswashing - due to the country's human rights record.

The country staging the tournament could also mean another World Cup in November and December to avoid the heat of July and August - as was the case in Qatar last year.

Speaking at the Leaders in Sport summit held in London yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Sport Bader Alkadi spoke of the nation’s desire to follow in the footsteps of Qatar.

"Like the pride you had in the UK when you hosted the Olympics, like how proud we are about us beating Argentina at the World Cup and Qatar... we’re proud of what other countries have been delivering an excellent World Cup," said Alkadi in a report by The Guardian.

"Definitely we want to have this at home, and we want to ensure that we develop our country to host such events at a high standard."

Spain, Morocco, and Portugal are set to stage the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina hosting the opening games.

However, it is subject to being approved by the FIFA Congress in Bangkok next year, something which is a matter of formality.

The 2026 World Cup with 48 teams will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.