By Paul Nicholson and Samindra Kunti
October 17 – Qatar will stage the 2023 Asian Cup, beating South Korea and Indonesia to the hosting that was originally scheduled for China.
The tournament timing will also shift from the summer of 2023 to January 2024, thus avoiding the heat of the Qatari summer.
January is traditionally the timeslot for the Asian Cup but was rescheduled to June/July to fit with FIFA’s ambitions to reorganise the international calendar and enable longer release windows for players in European leagues.
The new hosting agreement will mean that Qatar has ensured that its football bonanza will not come to an end on December 18 when a new world champion will be crowned, but will continue with another of the world’s biggest football finals just over a year later.
Qatar had been in the bidding for the 2027 Asian Cup, but the AFC said that Saudi Arabia and India have now been shortlisted for that edition. The final decision on who will host 2027 will be taken by the AFC Congress at its next meeting in February 2023.
Qatar are the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions and will be hosting the finals for the third time after staging the 1988 and 2011 editions. Qatar will also host the U-23 Asian Cup in 2024.
It’s the second time in a row that Asia’s West Zone welcomes the tournament after the expanded 2019 edition was hosted in the United Arab Emirates. In 2015, Australia organised the Asian Cup.
“Qatar’s capabilities and track record in hosting major international sporting events and their meticulous attention to detail are well admired throughout the globe,” said AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (pictured left).
“I must also commend the AFC for showcasing utmost professionalism in conducting a fair and transparent expedited bidding process and I thank all our commercial partners and sponsors for their patience during these unprecedented times,” he continued.
“Given the short lead time in preparation, we know that the hard work begins immediately but with their existing world-class infrastructure and unrivalled hosting capabilities, we are confident that Qatar will stage a worthy spectacle befitting the prestige and stature of Asia’s crown jewel.”
China had been due to stage next year’s continental championship but pulled out due to the government’s coronavirus policies. The decision left the AFC scrambling to find a suitable host for their flagship tournament. As Australia withdrew their bid, South Korea emerged as an early frontrunner, but, while enjoying government support, it is understood that the Koreans never found enough backing from commercial partners to further underwrite their bidding credentials.
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