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Australia’s World Cup bid team has agreed to compensate rugby league and Australian Rules for the disruption the event would cause their seasons.

Both rival codes have expressed concern in recent months about the effect the World Cup would have on their sports but after a meeting in Canberra, Football Federation Australia (FFA) has said it will do everything it can to “minimise disruption”.

“The FFA accepts that other codes will be disrupted temporarily if we win the World Cup, and we agree with the Government that no code should be left worse off and we will work with them to minimise disruption,” said Australia World Cup bid chief executive Ben Buckley.

“The meeting agreed on a clear process over the next few weeks to finalise agreement on the principles of compensation for the other football codes.”

Australian Rules (AFL) chief Andrew Demetriou has refused to allow Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium to be used for the World Cup, while National Rugby League (NRL) boss David Gallop has said that he is not prepared to see his sport “fall off the face of the earth".

Federal sports minister Kate Ellis, who was also present at the talks, added: “Bidding for such a big event requires co-operation and we’re working closely with the FFA and sports to work through any issues they may face in the event of a successful bid.

“We want to put forward the best possible bid and deliver the many benefits that come with hosting the world's biggest sporting event.

“Today’s meeting was productive and, although there’s still more work to do, the bid is on track and progressing well.”