Asian Cup helps China draw more publicity: Blatter

World soccer chief Sepp Blatter said on Monday that the 2004 Asian Cup earned China an opportunity to draw more attention from the world.

"I don't think China lost money for hosting the Asian Cup, because Chinese organizers are so clever," Blatter told a news conference.

The Chinese organizers claimed the Asian Cup had put them in red ink because the tournament's marketing including tickets sales was controlled by the Asian Football Confederation, in a way different from the World Cup.

"During the Asian Cup, you can see the reports about the Chinese national team from TV, newspapers and internet. So that was what China earned from the Asian Cup, and it is the value for the whole country," said the FIFA president.

Blatter, who attended the Asian Cup opening ceremony in Beijing last month, also praised the organizing of the Asian Cup.

"What China has won is the publicity, you cannot just identify the benefit from how much money you have earned. That is football."

China lost to Japan 3-1 last Saturday in the country's only second appearance in an Asian Cup grand finale.