Australia confirmed as Asian Cup hosts
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 10:00 pm
Australia confirmed as Asian Cup hosts
Liam FitzGibbon
January 5, 2011 - 10:09PM
.AAP
Australia will host the 2015 Asian Cup after its uncontested bid was rubber-stamped by the Asian Football Confederation in Doha on Wednesday.
Football Federation Australia was the sole bidder for the event but still had to adhere to the formal bidding process by making its final presentation to the AFC's executive committee.
However, as expected, the bid earned unanimous support to ensure Australia will host its first major international tournament since joining the Asian confederation in 2006.
Advertisement: Story continues below FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said it would be an "honour" to host what he described as Asia's most significant sporting event.
"It's a great outcome and it strengthens our relationship with Asia given we're the newest country in the confederation," Buckley told AAP.
"It's a wonderful event that will bring benefits to football in this country.
"In terms of exposure in Asia it's an extraordinarily large television audience, we expect a significant number of international visitors and importantly it promotes Australian football both domestically and internationally."
The awarding of the tournament comes only a month after Australia's failed bid to host the 2022 World Cup, which humiliatingly received just one vote from FIFA's executive committee.
"No doubt we were disappointed with that outcome but this is a fantastic event in its own right," Buckley said.
"It's the most significant sporting event in Asia and it is one of the fastest-growing international football tournaments.
"I know Australia will do a fantastic job."
Buckley said preparation would effectively begin immediately with an FFA team on hand to take in the running of the 2011 event which kicks off in Qatar on Saturday morning (AEDT).
He expected the awarding of the 2015 tournament would raise interest in this year's event among Australian fans.
The tournament in Australia is planned for January 2015 and will feature the 16 top teams in Asia with matches to be played at four or five selected venues.
Those will be chosen from an initial eight stadiums put forward by Australia's bid team - Sydney's ANZ Stadium, Sydney Football Stadium and Parramatta Stadium, Melbourne's Etihad Stadium and AAMI Park, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, Gold Coast's Skilled Park and Canberra Stadium.
FFA said a number of ancillary events would also be conducted including the preliminary draw, final draw, opening and closing ceremonies and team workshops.
The 2007 Asian Cup, held in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, was seen by an estimated 655 million television viewers with China's hosting of the 2004 event attracting an audience of 748 million.
© 2011 AAP
