Asian Cup Boss Says Event's Success Paves Way For Australia To Host More Tournaments

Asian Cup Chief Organizer Michael Brown said that "he hopes the success of the tournament paves the way for Australia to host more major football tournaments," as organizers prepare to return a profit of A$4M-A$6M ($3.2M-$4.6M) to governments who backed it, according to Tom Smithies of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Though a final audit of the Asian Cup balance sheet will be needed to provide exact numbers, Brown said that "ticket sales would finish" between A$18M-A$20M -- well above the A$14M budgeted for, as more than 650,000 people attended the 32 games. The surplus "will be returned to the federal and NSW, Victorian and Queensland governments" who provided A$61M to host the Asian Cup (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/4).