The Asian Football Confederation has received a record seven expressions of interest for hosting the 2031 AFC Asian Cup.
India is one of the seven countries that expressed its interest in hosting Asia’s most prestigious men’s national team tournament.
Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and a joint bid from Kyrgyz, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the others that have shown interest in hosting the championship
The bids for the 2031 edition were opened on November 27, 2024, and the deadline to submit the expression of interest was March 31, 2025.
Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2027 edition.
India had earlier bid for the 2027 edition and was involved in a two-horse race with Saudi Arabia. However, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) withdrew its bid without much explanation to hand over the hosting rights to the Gulf nation, which will also host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Chairing the 6th AFC executive committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said the high-quality bids is a testament to the tournament’s growing global prestige.
The AFC said the seven bids they received were the highest in ‘modern history’
“The AFC Asian Cup is undoubtedly one of the greatest success stories and the last edition in Qatar firmly cemented Asia’s flagship as one of the best football competitions in the world. The record number of bids that we have received is further testament to the stature and appeal of the AFC Asian Cup and on behalf of the AFC Executive Committee, I would like to put on record our sincere appreciation to all our MAs for outlining their ambition to extend and expand on our proud legacy,” the AFC president said.
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The AFC will now work with the bidding MAs (Member Associations) on the delivery of the necessary bidding documentation in accordance with the established timelines and processes, with a Bidding Workshop for the AFC Asian Cup 2031 scheduled to be held later this month.
