TOP Football Federation Australia officers were impressed with the Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility during a visit this week.
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The FFA’s AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 local organising committee chief executive officer Michael Brown and its chief operating officer Mark Falvo toured the Morshead Park facility before a visit around Ballarat.
Mr Brown said Ballarat stood a great chance of hosting an international soccer team in late 2014 if the stadium was completed to standard.
Asian Cup teams will arrive in Australia in December 2014 ahead of the January 8, 2015 start date, and will play pre-competition games in their host cities. If selected, Ballarat could host a team like Japan, China, India or South Korea.
“The Asian Cup presents a great opportunity for cities like Ballarat to showcase what their community has to offer in terms of tourist attractions, business infrastructure and commercial opportunities,” Mr Brown said. “I inspected the new stadium and was very impressed and I understand that the plans will bring it up to the standards that will be needed for the facility to be considered as a possible venue for teams to prepare for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.”
Ballarat Host City Bid Committee chairman Duncan Smith said it would be a massive economic and tourism boost. “A match of this importance leading up to the opening games of the tournament is massive,” Mr Smith said.
fiona.hendeson@thecourier.com.au