19/7/2022–|Last update: 7/19/202212:43 AM (Mecca)
The Asian Football Confederation announced, on Monday, that Qatar, South Korea, Australia and Indonesia have expressed their interest in hosting the Asian Cup next year, following China withdrew from its organization.
The AFC said that it had received the wishes of 4 countries to host the tournament, and that the deadline for receiving the organizing files would be on August 31, and the federation would announce the winning country on October 17 through the Executive Committee.
China was supposed to host the tournament with the participation of 24 teams in June and July of next year, but it apologized for not hosting it because of its efforts to completely get rid of Covid-19.
Qatar will host the World Cup Finals, from November 21 to December 18, and has previously hosted the Asian Cup in 1988 and 2011, and won the title of the last edition in the UAE in 2019.
4️⃣ Member Associations express interest in hosting #AsianCup2023!
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???????? Qatarhttps://t.co/imZzplPCgW— #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) July 18, 2022
The AFC had opened the door for candidacy to host the Asian Cup on May 31, and set a deadline until the end of last June to receive the wishes, and then extended it until July 15.
South Korea won the inaugural AFC Asian Cup in 1956, and retained the title 4 years later, the only time the competition was held on its soil.
South Korea has never hosted a major tournament since Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup.
Australia, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup winners, will co-host the Women’s World Cup with New Zealand from July 20 next year.
“Our desire is to host the tournament in February 2024, so that it does not conflict with the Women’s World Cup,” an FFA spokesperson said.
Indonesia was among the 4 countries that hosted the 2007 Asian Cup.
And the Japan Football Association announced, last May, that it had been contacted informally regarding the possibility of hosting the tournament instead of China, but Yasuharu Surimachi, the technical director of the federation, told local media a few days ago that there was little chance of organizing the continental competition.