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A row is brewing between Australia’s World Cup bid team and three of its most popular domestic sports over access to the country’s biggest stadiums.

Reuters reports that the team bidding to bring the World Cup to Oceania for the first time in either 2018 or 2022 wants exclusive access to the nation’s largest venues, including Sydney’s Olympic stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) says it would need sole use of 12 of the country’s biggest stadiums for at least two months to meet Fifa requirements to stage the tournament.

But officials from Australian Rules (AFL), rugby union (ARU) and rugby league (NRL) argue that such a move would put their entire seasons at risk and cost them “hundreds of millions of dollars”.

NRL boss David Gallop said: “We are not trying to stand in the way of the World Cup bid but we are not prepared to fall off the face of the planet either.”

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou added: “It affects revenue. We’ve got broadcast agreements, we’ve got agreements with members, we’ve got agreements with corporate partners. The cost is monumental – I’m talking hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Domestic soccer in Australia fails to attract crowds as large as the other codes but the FFA claims that hosting the World Cup would have a positive effect on the entire country.

“We think the World Cup is bigger than any individual sport,” said FFA chief executive Ben Buckley.

“It is the biggest sporting event in the world. It has significant economic benefits to Australia, enhances our standing as a nation around the world and has enormous social benefits.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Japan’s cabinet has endorsed the country’s bid to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022.

Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea but the two countries plan to lodge individual bids this time.