MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia and New Zealand have joined forces in a bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2023. Football Federation Australia and New Zealand Football announced the co-confederation bid on Friday in Melbourne, hours before the official bid book was to be submitted to soccer’s world governing body FIFA in Zurich. FIFA has plenty of contenders to host the first 32-team Women’s World Cup ahead of the deadline for bid books on Friday. Other bids are expected from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Japan and South Korea, which could be a joint project with North Korea. Australia’s star striker Sam Kerr said the women’s game in Asia and Oceania would get a significant boost from the investment and interest generated by hosting a World Cup. “There is so much untapped potential, not just in Australia but right across Asia and the Pacific region, that I really do believe we would offer something incredibly special,“said Kerr, who scored fives goals in four games as Australia reached the knockout stage of the World Cup in France earlier this year. “I really believe that Australia and New Zealand would be incredible hosts to take the game forward. “It is also fitting…