Former FAI general manager Noel Mooney believes now's the time for the UK and Ireland to launch a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
The nations have been weighing up a potential bid in recent years, with feasibility studies currently being conducted.
Mooney is now Football Association of Wales chief executive having previously spent ten years as UEFA's head of strategic development
He claims that UEFA would welcome a bid despite FIFA currently looking into a shorter gap between World Cups.
“We obviously had the Euros semis and the final this year in England,” said Mooney, who led the FAI for six months in 2019.
“We had Glasgow hosting and nearly Dublin but for the pandemic. I was in Glasgow for some matches and London for the semis and final.
“Anybody who came here could really feel the love for football in the UK. No question about it.”
He added: “I think the time is right (for a British and Irish bid). Having worked in UEFA I know this very well.
“They do see the UK as very much the home of football. People love coming here and feel that football lives here.
“If you look at the concept of the Super League it was the fans in England who quickly said ‘This is not for us’ and that was a sign of how powerful football is – the culture, the heritage.
“It’s the same in Wales and having travelled around the country I’ve been pleasantly surprised how much football is liked here.”
If the bid does materialise, it's likely to face competition in Uruguay - who hosted the first World Cup finals in 1930.
“Let’s see what comes out of the feasibility study but there have been very positive productive discussions between the five associations,” Mooney said at FAW's launch of a new six-year strategy designed to make Wales a leading football nation.
“I think it goes in the right direction but let’s see and it’s a volatile time in the global sports market.
“You’ve got talk of a two-year World Cup and there could be something that happens outside our control in terms of formats of competitions and different things.
“We must wait until we have the final plan, but it is pretty clear that it would be good for the islands to host it.”
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