Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sept 2: Australia announced on Friday that it would not pursue a formal bid to host the Asian Cup in 2023, but that it is ‘seriously’ interested in hosting the women’s competition in 2026.
The 24-team men’s competition was scheduled to be held in China in June and July of the following year, but Beijing withdrew as a result of its zero-Covid policy, which made hosting sporting events extremely difficult.
The Asian Football Confederation announced Australia as one of four new contenders in July, along with South Korea, Qatar, and Indonesia. A decision is expected on October 17.
“Football Australia today confirmed that it will not proceed with submitting a formal bid to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023,” it said in a statement.
“But it maintains its strong interest in bidding for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and plans to submit a formal bid later this year,” the statement added.
