(Reuters) She told reporters at the 10th Men's World Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur that applications to stage the next tournament had been received from England, Germany, Spain, the United States, Australia and Pakistan.
Scheduled for 2006, the competition will revert to 12 teams, as opposed to the 16 who qualified for the current tournament.
The decision to expand the current competition from 12 to 16 teams was at the request of the host nation Malaysia, she said.
Another change will be that the number of players in each nation's squad available for substitution in any match will revert to 16-18 were allowed this time to help combat Kuala Lumpur's heat and humidity.
The countries eligible for the finals will be the host nation, the five continental champions and nations ranked from one to six or seven following a World Cup qualifying tournament.
Van Breda Vriesman also said that the Greek team would not automatically qualify for the Olympics as host nation in 2004 and must first attain a suitable standard of play.
