Kuala Lumpur, July 18 (BNA): South Korea, Australia, Indonesia and Qatar have submitted “expressions of interest” to replace China as hosts of next year’s Asian Cup, the Asian Football Confederation said Monday.
The organization said the deadline for the four confederations to submit their bid documents has been set for August 31, and the AFC Executive Committee will announce the new host on October 17.
China was due to host the 24-team event, scheduled for June and July next year, but the country’s efforts to pursue a zero-COVID-19 policy led to it being moved, Reuters reports.
South Korea won the inaugural AFC Asian Cup in 1956 and retained the title as host four years later – the only time they have hosted a final. The country has not hosted a major tournament since it co-hosted the World Cup with Japan in 2002.
Australia, the 2015 Asian Cup winners, already has a crowded 2023 planned as co-hosts of the Women’s World Cup with New Zealand. That tournament begins on July 20 next year.
Australian football chief James Johnson said earlier this month that the board had consulted with the Asian Football Confederation to consider moving the Asian Cup to a later time in the calendar to avoid a World Cup collision.
Qatar will host the Men’s World Cup this year from November 21 to December 18, and has hosted the Asian Cup twice, in 1988 and 2011, and won the tournament in 2019.
Indonesia was one of four co-hosts of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and was knocked out in the group stage – their best result of the tournament.
The Japan Football Association confirmed in May that it had been informally contacted about the possibility of replacing China as host, but coach Yasuharu Surimachi told local media earlier this month that there was little chance of bidding.