Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 5: The All India Football Federation stated that it is currently concentrating on laying the groundwork for an appropriate footballing organisation in the nation when it announced on Monday that it will be abandoning its bid to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Saudi Arabia and India were vying to host the event, however the former opted to withdraw from the competition to set the stage for the contest.
The AIFF Executive committee stated in a statement posted on the official website that the current emphasis is on creating the framework for a functional structure rather than holding large-scale events.
“Our current focus is building the foundations of the proper footballing structure before thinking of hosting bigger events like the AFC Asian Cup,” said the Executive Committee in a statement.
According to Kalyan Chaubey, president of the AIFF, the current emphasis is on achieving the essential objectives to strengthen the sport in the nation.
India put forth a bid in 2020 to host the AFC Asian Cup in 2027. Along with Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea, India had also entered the competition for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, however it withdrew early in October 2018. Later, South Korea and Thailand also decided not to participate, leaving just China to host the 2023 tournament. But because China also declined to serve as the host, it will instead be played in Qatar. The current FIFA World Cup is being held in Qatar, which has also twice hosted the Asian Cup.
India has participated in the AFC Asian Cup four times, and its best result was a runner-up finish in 1964 when there were only four teams competing in a round-robin tournament without a final.
