Hong Kong, July 31: The Hong Kong Football Association said today it would pay 36 million Hong Kong dollars (4.6 million USD) to bring Spanish giants Real Madrid to the city.
Martin Lam, general secretary of the football association, confirmed that including appearance money, accommodation, transport costs and other expenses, "the total cost of bringing Real Madrid will be 36 million dollars".
The figure far exceeds the 20 million dollars that had been widely estimated as the cost of hosting the star-studded Real Madrid team, including glamour signing David Beckham. The cost for the august 8 match will be mainly covered by sponsors and ticket sales, he said.
Any shortfall will be covered by government funds set aside as part of the re-launch of the city following the SARS outbreak, which badly damaged Hong Kong's image and economy.
Legislator Emily Lau said the government should have invited private firms to organise the event, saying "it is a waste of money".



Another lawmaker Choy So-Yuk said although the match was expected to have a positive effect on Hong Kong's tourism sector, 36 mn dlrs was "too much". Hong Kong were trounced 6-0 by English premier league giants Liverpool on Sunday.



The government's promotional body, Investhk, reportedly paid 1.2 million dollars to cover the costs of the match.



Already 2,000 passionate Real Madrid fans -- some of whom have been in line for four days -- have queued for to buy tickets costing between 500 Hong Kong dlrs and 1,500 dlrs.



Sales of the available 20,000 tickets will start a day early today night to relieve the discomfort of the fans queuing in sweltering conditions.


Bureau Report