The 2023 AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024, Qatar Football Association (QFA) has said. In a statement Tuesday, QFA also announced that its President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani was named as the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the AFC Asian Cup. Qatar, the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions, will be hosting the continent's most prestigious men's tournament for the third time after staging the 1988 and 2011 editions.
Also, Mansour Mohamed al-Ansari, QFA Secretary-General, in addition to his membership in the Local Organising Committee, was appointed as the Managing Director of the tournament.
The members of the committee includes: Ahmed Abdulaziz al-Buainain, Ibrahim Khalil al-Muhannadi, Hani Talib Ballan, Mansour Mohamed al-Ansari, Ghanem Ali al-Kuwari, Mohamed al-Suwaidi, and a representative from the Ministry of Interior.
This is the third time Qatar will be hosting the Asian Cup, having staged it in 1988 and 2011. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced Qatar as host country last October after China withdrew because of its “zero-Covid” policy. China was named host for the 2023 event in June 2019.
South Korea and Indonesia were the two other countries, who made bids to host the event after China’s withdrawal before Qatar got the nod. Qatar has rich experience in hosting mega sports events particularly major football competitions with last year’s FIFA World Cup turning out to be a huge success and has been rated as the best edition of football showpiece.
