Canberra, Feb 23 (IANS): The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup had an economic impact exceeding one billion dollars, Football Australia (FA) has revealed.

FA on Friday released a comprehensive report on its Legacy 23 strategy, which aimed to harness the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to deliver enduring benefits for the sport.

According to the report, the tournament was the first Women's World Cup to break even with an economic impact of 1.32 billion Australian dollars (865.9 million U.S. dollars) in Australia alone, reports Xinhua.

More than 1.7 million tickets were sold for the World Cup - beating the previous record of 1.35 million set in 2015 - and Australia's semifinal defeat to England became the country's most watched television broadcast since the current ratings system began in 2001.

Chief executive of FA James Johnson said that in order to continue the momentum of the tournament FA is aiming to secure the hosting rights for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup.

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Friday that Australia is the last country in discussions with the AFC to host the 2026 tournament, with a deal expected to be finalized by April.