The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been officially informed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA)will not be able to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
China PR were appointed as hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 on June 5, 2019, at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris. The 24-team competition was to be hosted across 10 Chinese cities from June 16 to July 16, 2023.
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Beijing’s strict zero-Covid strategy dealt another blow to the country’s sporting ambitions.
Authorities in China are pursuing a strategy of stamping out the virus entirely, which includes rapid lockdowns and mass testing, and millions in Shanghai have faced onerous restrictions for over a month.
But the measures — now rare globally, as most countries shift to living with Covid — have made hosting sporting events a major challenge.
The Olympic-sized Asian Games, due to be staged in September in Hangzhou, had already been postponed earlier this month
The loss of major sporting events is a blow to the ruling Communist Party, which had burnished its global image with an array of dazzling spectacles such as Beijing’s 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympics.
With the exception of this year’s Winter Olympics — held in a virus-secure, closed-loop Beijing bubble in February — the world’s most populous nation has cancelled or postponed almost all events since Covid emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.
“The AFC acknowledges the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the relinquishment by China PR of its hosting rights,” AFC said in a statement.
“The AFC worked closely with the CFA and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC) during the preparations and several milestones were achieved, including the launch of the tournament logo and the unveiling of the newly completed Shanghai Pudong Football Stadium last year.”
“The AFC appreciates that China PR, the CFA and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 LOC have made this very difficult but necessary decision in the collective interests of the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which has also provided the AFC the required time to assess the situation regarding the hosting of the AFC Asian Cup 2023.”
“The AFC will continue to work closely with its commercial partners and stakeholders to chart the course forward and remains grateful to them for their understanding and support during this period,” AFC added.
AFC also announced that further details about the next steps related to the hosting of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will be announced in due course.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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