On June 30th, the hour hand pointed to Beijing time, a piece of heavy news was like lightning breaking through the night sky - the Korean Football Association (KFA) officially released the news to the public, and they solemnly submitted an application to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the hosting of the 2023 Asian Cup on the morning of this day. The announcement has undoubtedly given Korean soccer a shot in the arm. Since that glorious moment in 1960, South Korea has not hosted this glorious tournament on their doorstep, and the last time they lifted the Asian Cup trophy was in the distant 1960s.
The 2023 Asian Cup was set to blossom in one of our 10 glittering cities, however, just in the middle of last month, the country's football federation announced that it had relinquished its right to host the event. The decision, like a heavy bomb, instantly caused an uproar in the global soccer community. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) then launched a new bidding process for the tournament, extending the original deadline for bids from June 30 to July 15, and it is expected that more member associations will be eager to apply to host the tournament in the near future. Currently, soccer powerhouses such as Japan, Qatar, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Australia are rumored to be interested in taking over the hosting rights of the 2023 Asian Cup. The final fate will be unveiled by the Asian Football Confederation's executive committee in October of this year.
