The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that Qatar will host the 2023 Asian Cup. Show Asian international soccer’s showpiece event is set to take place from 16th June to 16th July next year, although the AFC could move the tournament to a new date due to concerns over potentially extreme heat levels. The AFC will need Fifa’s approval to ensure the competition can be moved to a later time, which could cause a clash with the 2023/24 European club soccer season. The 24-team event was originally set to be hosted by China, which had to then step aside due to the country’s strict policies towards the Covid-19 pandemic. Qatar, who won the previous edition of the tournament in 2019, will now host the competition for a record third time, having beaten bids by South Korea and Indonesia to replace China as hosts. “Qatar’s capabilities and track record in hosting major international sporting events and their meticulous attention to detail are well admired throughout the globe”, said AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. “Given the short lead time in preparation, we know that the hard work begins immediately but 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.” KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Qatar will stage the next Asian Cup in place of original hosts China, the Asian Confederation (AFC) announced on Monday, with the tournament likely to be moved from mid-2023 to early 2024 to avoid the heat of the Gulf summer. The continental championships were awarded to China in 2019 but the world's most populous country relinquished the rights this year as it pursued a zero-COVID policy. The AFC reopened the bidding process and Qatar, which will host the World Cup finals from next month, was preferred to bids from South Korea and Indonesia at an executive committee meeting 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-rich nation has built seven stadiums and upgraded another around the capital Doha to host the 32-team World Cup finals in November and December. The QFA is proposing all eight be used for the Asian Cup, Al Salat said. [1/3] The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and President of Qatar Football Association (QFA) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani pose during an announcement ceremony of 2023 Asian Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia October 17, 2022. Asian Football Confederation/Kamarul Akhir/Handout via REUTERS 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. The Korean Football Association (KFA) apologised for the failure of its bid and suggested the financial muscle of the Gulf nation had been decisive. "We thought that we had no problem in hosting the event," the KFA said in a statement. "But we had to face fierce competition as Qatar jumped into the race with rich financial, human and material resources." Indonesia had been considered outsiders because of its lack of stadium infrastructure, even more so after more than 130 people were killed in a stampede at a match at Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java province 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. Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, additional reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha, Joori Roh in Seoul and Michael Church in Singapore, editing by Peter Rutherford Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Who will host the Asia Cup Cricket 2023?Asia Cup 2023 will be played in Pakistan. Till 2022 Pakistan will be merged into India.
Is there any Asia Cup in 2023?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.
Where will be Cricket Asia Cup 2023 held?Such a decision, an official said, cannot be made without it being discussed at ACC board level. Indeed, after a meeting in March this year - under Shah's ACC presidency - it was confirmed that Pakistan would be hosting the Asia Cup.
Will India play asia cup 2023?MUMBAI: On the day he started his second term as BCCI secretary, Jay Shah made it clear India "will not travel to Pakistan" for the 2023 Asia Cup, reports Gaurav Gupta. "It will be held at a neutral venue.
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