FIFA's executive committee has voted unanimously to end its policy of rotating the hosting of World Cups through its six continental confederations.

Executive committee vice-president Chung Mong-joon told reporters on Monday that the rotation policy had been dropped with effect from the 2018 World Cup.

Chung said that all associations would be free to apply to host future World Cup tournaments, providing they did not belong to confederations that had hosted the two preceding editions.

For the 2018 World Cup,  that will effectively prevent bids from Africa or South America.

South Africa was the first beneficiary of the shortlived rotation policy and is set to stage the next edition of the World Cup in 2010. Brazil is the only candidate bidding to stage the 2014 World Cup in South America and is due to have its host status rubber-stamped by the executive committee on Tuesday.

The rotation principle had been expected to receive vigorous support from FIFA's Trinidadian vice president Jack Warner and American executive board member Chuck Blazer.

Warner and Blazer are the president and general secretary of the CONCACAF federation which would have been next to host the 2018 World Cup under the rotation principle.

However Chung said the decision to drop the policy had been unanimous.

The executive committee's decision is due to be confirmed at a media conference later.