Defending champions Qatar will host the Asian Cup for the third time of their historical past, a 12 months after the World Cup.
The 2023 Asian Cup soccer match shall be held in Qatar, the Asian Soccer Confederation (AFC) has introduced after China withdrew earlier this 12 months due to its “zero-COVID” coverage.
The Asian Cup is held each 4 years. Qatar received the match’s final version, which was hosted by the United Arab Emirates in 2019.
That is the third time Qatar shall be internet hosting the match, having staged it in 1988 and 2011.
In June 2019, China was named host for the 2023 occasion however they withdrew in Could this 12 months, leaving the AFC scrambling to discover a new host for its flagship males’s 24-team soccer match.
South Korea and Indonesia have been the 2 different nations within the working after China’s withdrawal, however Qatar bought the nod on Monday.
Qatar shall be internet hosting the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off on November 20. The World Cup, normally held within the northern hemisphere’s summer season, was moved to November and December due to the acute warmth in Qatar throughout June and July.
The Gulf nation has constructed seven new stadiums and upgraded one other across the capital Doha to host the 32-team World Cup.
No dates have been introduced but for the 2023 Asian Cup by the AFC.
AFC chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa hailed Qatar’s “world-class infrastructure and unrivalled internet hosting capabilities” and mentioned Qatar is able to placed on the occasion regardless of the brief lead time to arrange.
“Given the brief lead time in preparation, we all know that the exhausting work begins instantly however with their current world-class infrastructure and unrivalled internet hosting capabilities, we’re assured that Qatar will stage a worthy spectacle befitting the status and stature of Asia’s crown jewel,” he mentioned in a press release.