New Zealand Football is discussing a bid for the Fifa Women's World Cup with the Government.
This country hosted the Fifa U-20 World Cup earlier this year, including games at Dunedin's stadium.
The national body wants to use that success as a platform to bid for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
France will host the 2019 tournament.
New Zealand Football president Deryck Shaw, of Rotorua, told the Otago Daily Times it did not yet have a formal view but it was discussing the possibility with the Government's Major Events Development Fund.
''It's something that I think we need to look at - look at the numbers. Our team's top 20 in the world, it's a very competitive team internationally.
''New Zealanders tend to get behind sports of all types. We were very pleased with the way the country got behind the Under 20s.''
Canada hosted the Women's World Cup earlier this year, which turned into a marketing dream.
July's final, in which the United States beat Japan 5-2, set a TV record in America, with an average audience of 25.4million fans tuning in.
That was the best viewing figures for any football match broadcast in the US.
New Zealand is ranked 16th in the world in the women's game and 148th in the men's, much lower than its 63rd ranking after it qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In July, Under 20 World Cup board member Scott Paterson, of Queenstown, expressed concern about the lack of upcoming events for specialist Kiwis.
Mr Paterson, who died last week, said the 2011 Rugby World Cup and this year's Cricket World Cup and Fifa U-20 World Cup honed the skills of New Zealanders, who now faced a dearth of major events.
''What's the next pipeline event?
''You get the NRL Nines, it's a weekend event. And the Queenstown marathon. They're big events, but they're small.''
In April, Rugby World Cup 2011 boss Martin Snedden suggested New Zealand bid for the men's World Cup.
Mr Shaw said such a bid was unlikely. While it had not been formally evaluated, he said hosting such a tournament was beyond New Zealand because of the country's relatively small stadiums, among other factors.
According to its website, the Government's Major Events fund invested $77.5 million in 160 events between its establishment in 2005 and October last year.
The fund, with its $10 million annual appropriation, backed the Fifa U-20 tournament, the New Zealand Open golf and Winter Games NZ in Queenstown.
It has committed money to the World Masters Games in 2017.
