Tag: Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ setup is finalized

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ have confirmed that the upcoming edition of Asia’s flagship national team competition will be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024.
Asia’s top 24 nations will compete for the most prestigious prize in Asian football and, as part of efforts to engage with more fans than ever before, the 18th edition of the tournament will maximize the advantage of playing the opening game on a Friday and the final on a weekend.
At the same time, the AFC and LOC have also confirmed that the eagerly anticipated showpiece will be staged across eight stadiums, six of which were venues for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, namely: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium as well as the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “We know that the Local Organising Committee and the Qatar Football Association will stage a true spectacle never before experienced in Asian football history.

AFC ASIAN CUP QATAR 2023™ STADIUMS

  • Al Bayt Stadium

“Already, we have witnessed the QFA and the Qatari Authorities organise the best-ever FIFA World Cup in the history of the modern game, and we have every faith that they will showcase their unrivalled hosting capabilities, state-of-the-art infrastructure and warm hospitality well admired throughout the world for the benefit of our teams, players and passionate fans.
“We praise them for their dedication and commitment, and we are delighted to confirm the competition dates and venues, which represents an important milestone in our ambitions to provide the ultimate stage for our teams and players to shine.”
The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ will be held across 30 days, two more than the 28-day 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates as part of efforts to enhance the experience for Asia’s passionate fans as well as the stature and commercial value of the competition.
With the excitement expected to peak in the coming months, the official draw ceremony for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ has also been confirmed to be held at the world-renowned Katara Opera House in Doha on May 11, 2023, at 2 pm (local time), with the official match schedule also expected to be unveiled shortly after the draw.

News leaks: AFC awarded UAE the hosting of Asian Cup 2019.

In Sydney , sources have leaked news that the AFC has already decided on the next hosting of the AFC Asian Cup 2019. Two countries have been shortlisted for the hosting, Iran and UAE. Both sides have claimed the support of the majority of the voting associations, but AFC has not indicated anything so far to put some light on the selected host nation. However, the news leak indicates that UAE has a lead on Iran and will be announced as the host in unspecified date.

Most of the work by the inspection teams and their reports are already completed.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said a date had not been set for a decision on whether Iran or United Arab Emirates would host the 24-team showpiece event.

“Probably in 2015, by next year we will decide,” the Bahraini royal told reporters in the last AFC gathering in Manila on late November.

Asked if the decision would be made at the AFC’s Congress in January prior to the 16-team Asian Cup, he added: “No. Some time in the middle of the year.”

The UAE are favorites to add yet another sporting event to their resume as hosts, but the Iranian bid claimed to receive support from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who visited Tehran last year.

Shaikh Salman said he had no preference.

“No we will leave that to the people taking that responsibility. They have to analyze them and bring it to the ex-co so we can decide.”

Hosting the event involves high cost and limits the number of AFC members who can realistically stage it. Australia were the only bidders for the 2015 event and 11 ‘interested’ bids for 2019 quickly became two.

Meanwhile , Australia defeated UAE 2-0 in the second semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Newcastle to set a date with their nemesis South Korea on Saturday for the penultimate match of the competition.

South Korea and Australia have already met in the group stages , with the Koreans narrowly beating the host 1 – 0.