The Asian Football Confederation confirmed on Monday that Qatar, not China, would be hosting the 2019 Asian Cup. South Korea and Indonesia had both submitted competing bids for the tournament.
China, the world’s most populous country, had been awarded the rights to host the 2019 continental championships, but it renounced those rights earlier this year in order to pursue a zero-COVID policy.
The initial dates for the 24-team Asian Cup were in June and July 2023; currently, it’s possible that the tournament will be moved to later in 2023 or perhaps into early 2024 to avoid the hottest part of the year.
Reuters’ request for information and concerns regarding when the event will be held were not met with an immediate response from the Qatar Football Association or Qatar’s government media office.
Moreover, the AFC has announced that India and Saudi Arabia are the last two candidates for the 2027 Asian Cup, with the final choice to be made by the executive committee at their next meeting in February.
Since South Korea hosted the second of its two Asian championships in 1960, the country was considered a strong contender for hosting rights.
Until more than 130 people were killed in a stampede at a match at Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java on October 1, Indonesia was seen as an outsider due to a lack of stadium infrastructure in the country.
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