Qatar Officially Wins the Right to Host The 2023 Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation announced that Qatar will host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, after being chosen by the Executive Office of the Federation on Monday, October 17, 2022, in Kuala Lumpur, instead of China, which withdrew from hosting last May due to its policy to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.
The President of the Asian Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, handed the certificate of Qatar’s hosting of the Asian Cup to the President of the Qatar Federation, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani.
"We are embracing the tournament again, welcome to Asia in Qatar," the Qatar Football Association wrote on its official website on Twitter.
The tournament was scheduled to be held in 10 Chinese cities from June 16 to July 16, 2023, with the participation of 24 teams, However, China withdrew as we mentioned, and then Qatar, South Korea, and Indonesia expressed their desire to host, while Australia decided not to proceed with its file in early September.
The State of Qatar, which awaits the biggest challenge next month with its hosting of the first FIFA World Cup in the Arab world, hosted the Asian Cup in 1988 when Saudi Arabia won the title after winning the final match against South Korea on penalties, and 2011 when Japan won the final match against Australia after extra time.
And the Qatar national team won the title in the last Asian Cup, hosted by the UAE in 2019, after an amazing performance led by striker Al Moez Ali and Spanish coach Felix Sanchez.
According to the statements of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation, published by the official website of the Continental Confederation, there are many reasons that favored Qatar in winning the hosting of the 2023 Asian Nations Championship.
1- Qatar’s capabilities and record in hosting major sporting events.
2- Qatar's meticulous attention to detail, which is highly regarded around the world.
3- The AFC President added: Given the short time to prepare, we know that the hard work will begin immediately, but with world-class infrastructure and high organizational capabilities, we are confident that Qatar will organize a great edition that matches the value and prestige of the jewel of the Asian continent championships.
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Qatar previously hosted the 1995 FIFA Youth World Cup, the 2011 Arab Games, and the 2015 Handball World Cup, followed in the same year by the Boxing World Cup, the 2018 World Swimming Championships, and the 2019 World Championships in Athletics.
Qatar is also on the verge of organizing other major tournaments, most notably the 2023 World Judo Championships and the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
Qatar also won the right to organize the 2030 Asian Games for the second time after hosting the 2006 edition.
And of course, most importantly of all, Qatar will host the most prominent event in the world, the FIFA World Cup 2022, from November 20 to December 18.
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