Who will host the Asian Cup 2023?
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Khalifa International Stadium in Doha after it was refurbished ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World ... [+] Cup. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images) Show Qatar has been confirmed as the host nation of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, beating competition from South Korea and Indonesia. The tournament, which will now most likely be shifted to early 2024, will take place in Qatar for the third time. China had originally won the right to host the tournament, but pulled out due to its Covid-19 prevention policies. Doha’s shiny new stadiums, ready for the 2022 World Cup, probably helped the small group of Asian Football Confederation committee members who chose the hosts justify their decision, but others will likely be questioning why Qatar gets to host Asia’s most prestigious soccer competition again just 13 years after it last hosted the Asian Cup. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino often talks about growing the game, taking it outside of Europe to all corners of the world. But in Asia, it seems “growing the game” means holding every possible tournament in either Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia. Qatar most recently hosted the Asian Cup in 2011. Qatar’s bid for the 2027 Asian Cup (which it has now pulled out after being awarded the 2023 tournament) describes Qatar 2011 as “a homerun” and “the best edition in the tournament’s history”. Others didn’t give the tournament such glowing reviews. CNN says that “stadiums remained stubbornly empty” despite tickets costing as little as $5. Attendances can be low for the Asian Cup, but 2011’s average attendance was around 10,000 fewer than both the 2007 ASEAN tournament and Australia 2015. There were also reports of thousands of fans being shut out from the final by heavy-handed police. Fans of Qatar walk to the stadium ahead of the Asian Cup 2011 (Photo by Matthew Ashton/AMA/Corbis ... [+] via Getty Images) Corbis via Getty ImagesQatar also hosted the Club World Cup in 2019 and 2020, the knockout stages and most of the group stage matches of the Asian Champions League in 2020 and the Asian Games in 2006. It will host the 2030 Asian Games, and is scheduled to host the Under-23 Asian Cup in early 2024, although this will likely be moved to make space for the Asian Cup. Saudi Arabia and India are bidding for the 2027 Asian Cup, meaning that the Asian Cup could be played on the Arabian Peninsula for all the tournaments from 2011 to 2027 apart from Australia 2015. The UAE, which held the most recent Asian Cup in 2019, has also hosted all the Club World Cup tournaments since 2017 that haven’t been in Qatar, while Saudi Arabia has hosted the Spanish and Italian super cups, is hosting the 2029 Asian Winter Games and 2034 Asian Games, and is looking to host the 2030 World Cup. Qatar’s rival bids for 2023 were South Korea, which last hosted the competition in 1960, and Indonesia, which was one of four joint hosts in 2007, but has never hosted the tournament by itself. The Asian Cup will likely be moved to winter, which comes in the middle of the European soccer calendar, meaning superstars like Son Heung-min and Mehdi Taremi will have to choose between club and country. In 2019, Son said fatigue had affected his performances in the tournament, which came at the end of a grueling year for the Tottenham Hotspur player. It also means that the tournament will have to compete with the Premier League and La Liga for TV audiences. The 2023 Asian Cup will give Qatar’s stadiums a purpose once the 2022 World Cup has finished. But while the World Cup might have almost sold out, Qatar will have to do a lot better with its ticketing and promotion than it did in 2011 if it wants to make the 2023 Asian Cup a success and justify the AFC’s decision to award Qatar it’s most prestigious tournament yet again. 14hMark Ogden and Kyle Bonagura 21hBill Connelly and James Tyler In addition to this year's FIFA World Cup, Qatar have now been confirmed as the hosts of AFC Asian Cup 2023 -- where they will also be defending champions after winning the previous edition in 2019. MAHMOUD KHALED/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Qatar will stage next year's AFC Asian Cup in place of original hosts China PR after seeing off rival bids from South Korea and Indonesia, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Monday. The continental championship was awarded to China in 2019 but the world's most populous country relinquished their rights earlier this year as it pursued a zero-COVID policy. The AFC re-opened the bidding process and the three candidates were considered by the executive committee on Monday. "Qatar's capabilities and track record in hosting major international sporting events and their meticulous attention to detail are well admired throughout the globe," AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said in a statement. "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." The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has proposed that the 24-team tournament be shifted from its original dates in June and July next year to run for a month from Jan. 24, 2024, its spokesman, Ali Al Salat, told Reuters. The Gulf Arab state has staged the Asian Cup twice before, in 1988 and 2011, and it won the last tournament, in the United Arab Emirates, in 2019. The Asian Cup is held every four years. The gas and oil-rich country has built seven stadiums and upgraded another around the capital Doha to host the 32-team FIFA World Cup in November and December. The QFA is proposing all eight be used for the Asian Cup, Al Salat said. The 24-team Asian Cup is now likely to be shifted from its original dates in June and July to later in 2023, or even into early 2024, to ensure matches are not played during the worst of the summer heat. South Korea had been favourites to be awarded the hosting rights as the country had not staged the finals since 1960, when they won the second of their two Asian titles. Indonesia had been considered outsiders because of the lack of stadium infrastructure in the country, even more so after more than 130 people died in a stampede at a match at Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java on Oct. 1. The AFC said the executive meeting had opened with the offer of "heartfelt condolences" to the Indonesian FA "as well as the families and loved ones of the precious lives lost". Qatar was also one of three nations bidding to stage the 2027 edition of the Asian Cup after Iran and Uzbekistan withdrew expressions of interest. The AFC executive committee on Monday shortlisted the bids from India and Saudi Arabia for that tournament with a final decision to be made at their next meeting in February. Who will host the Asia Cup Cricket 2023?Flagship tournaments are supposed to be held in Pakistan as the Asian giants will host the forthcoming edition of the Asia Cup in 2023 followed by the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. "We will have Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue.
Where is Asia Cup 2023 held?The hosting rights of the 2023 edition of the 50-over Asia Cup has been awarded to Pakistan by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) as a pre-cursor to the marquee World Cup in India.
Who will host 2027 Asian Cup?India and Saudi Arabia have emerged as the final two bidders to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Tuesday. The development came to the fore after Qatar was chosen as the host country for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
Who will qualify for Asian Cup 2023?Which teams have qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup?. |
