The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has received a record seven bids to host the 2031 Asian Cup, including a historic joint bid from three Central Asian countries – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This was announced at the 6th AFC Executive Committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the organization’s website said.
In addition to the joint bid of the Central Asian countries, Australia, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have expressed their interest in hosting the tournament.
AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa expressed his gratitude to all member associations for their interest, noting that the unprecedented number of applications demonstrates the growing prestige of Asia's premier football tournament.
The previous Asian Cup, held in Qatar in 2023, set new attendance records and generated 7,9 billion digital impressions, with matches broadcast by 60 broadcasters in more than 160 countries and territories, he said.
The AFC plans to hold a bidding seminar for the 2031 Asian Cup in late April this year, after which it will begin evaluating all bids. The final decision on the host country for the 24-team tournament will be made at the AFC Congress in 2026.
The next Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027.
