WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Australia's bid to host World Cup boosted by Asia
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-21 19:56

CANBERRA: Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy said on Wednesday the nation's position in Asia can help it host soccer's World Cup that will reap the sport more money than the other nations vying for the honor.

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Lowy is confident that Australia will win the right to host the coveted event in either 2018 or 2022.

He said Asia's status as the world's fastest growing economic region and a developing sporting landscape should help persuade soccer's world governing body FIFA to capitalize.

"We are able to show that bringing the game to Australia and having the Asian continent with us at the same timezone will benefit not only Australia, not only Asia, but the whole football world," Lowy said at a Melbourne Victory business function.

Lowy said Australia offered the sport an unrivalled development opportunity.

"Asian development in sport is such that if the World Cup comes to this part of the world then I think they will be able to cash in and sort of monopolize with football, because the other sports haven't taken off yet," he said.

The other bidders for one or both of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups - to be decided in December next year - are Spain and Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Russia and the United States.