On the evening of July 23rd, the Central
national soccer team
The ball association issued a news release, after the open call, member associations to submit materials, comprehensive assessment and reported to the AFC for approval, is now selected Qingdao as China's team
World Qualifying Round (WQR)
The host city for the October home game, which will be played at the
Qingdao Youth Soccer Stadium
. This marks the first time in history that Qingdao will host an adult national team.
Although Qingdao has long been known as a soccer city, it is the first time it has hosted an adult national team game. Previously, Qingdao had bid to host the national football team's home match against Thailand in the 36-team tournament in June this year, and although it was unsuccessful, Qingdao has always had a strong desire to host the national football team's home matches. In recent years, Qingdao has hosted a number of national matches and training sessions for other age groups, all of which have been well received. In last year's East Asia U15 Championship, the Chinese team won the title by defeating Japan at the Youth Football Stadium. At the beginning of July this year, China's U15 national youth team also trained in Qingdao and beat the South Korean team of the same age group after traveling to South Korea. Qingdao has become one of the blessed places for Chinese soccer.
Currently, Qingdao has two Chinese Super League clubs. The Youth Football Stadium, the home of the Qingdao Sea Cowboys, has a capacity of 53,000 spectators and has had an outstanding attendance this season. The Chengyang District of Qingdao, where the stadium is located, is rich in soccer field resources and atmosphere, with as many as 11 pieces of high-quality natural turf, which can meet the needs of the national football team's pre-match training.
In addition, Qingdao, as a nationally renowned tourist city, has abundant reception capacity for large-scale events and high-quality hotel resources. In accordance with the requirements of FIFA and AFC, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology will be fully utilized in the Asian zone of the World Qualification from this stage onwards. Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, as a modern and professional soccer stadium that has already hosted Chinese Super League matches, has the conditions for setting up and using VAR equipment, and therefore has an advantage in hosting international events.
