It was rumored earlier that when the AFC had not yet officially announced the change of venue, the East Asian Football Associations (EAFAs) such as South Korea and Japan had already heard about it, however, the possibility of South Korea and Japan co-hosting the event does not seem to be high at the moment. Even the East Asian Cup in July this year, after the Chinese Football Association could not host, the Japanese Football Association took over the baton, but due to the number of participating teams is relatively low, the difficulty of organizing relatively low.
With Korean and Japanese football associations unwilling to host the event, Southeast Asian football associations such as Thailand, Indonesia and Australia have become the new favorites. However, Indonesia will host the FIFA U20 World Youth Championship in May 2023, and it is unlikely to host the Asian Cup again; Australia will co-host the Women's World Cup with New Zealand in July 2023, and I'm afraid that there is a scheduling conflict, so I'm afraid that I won't be able to host the Asian Cup either. Furthermore, Australia just hosted the Asian Cup in 2015 and is unlikely to take over the baton again after eight years. Therefore, Thailand has become the only hope in East Asia. Thailand has already hosted the three groups of the AFC Champions League this year, but the problem they face is the hardware facilities, just like before hosting the fourth U23 Asian Cup in January 2020, there were rumors that its hosting right might be deprived due to the substandard venues. And with only a year to prepare for the Asian Cup, a new stadium does not seem likely.
Qatar may be an ideal alternative
In the case that no football association in East Asia is willing to host the event, the AFC had to break the East and West Asian hosting rules. But with only a year or so to prepare, the hosting federation is afraid that it will be difficult to build on its infrastructure and will have to utilize existing venues.
In this case, Qatar may be an ideal alternative as they will be hosting the World Cup from late November to mid-December this year. Since winning the right to host the World Cup in 2010, Qatar has undertaken a massive infrastructure build-up and the new stadiums built for the World Cup are now fully operational. There is a theoretical possibility of hosting the Asian Cup in half a year's time, and the various stadiums are fully ready to be used again. Not only that, but other infrastructure such as training grounds and accommodation hotels are also fully compliant with World Cup standards.
What's more, the stadiums of the Qatar World Cup are all air-conditioned, so even if the matches are played in June and July, the players will not be affected at all, and the quality and excitement of the matches can be completely guaranteed. To organize the Asian Cup with the standard of the World Cup can be said to be beyond imagination!
From another point of view, the AFC has already begun preparations for the bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup, with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Iran, India and other countries putting forward their intentions to host the tournament, with Qatar and Saudi Arabia considered to be the most competitive countries. Saudi Arabia to bid for the 2027 Asian Cup, the government to the Football Association are making all kinds of preparations, and promised to build three new professional stadiums. In April this year, Saudi Arabia has successfully hosted the Asian Championship West Asia Region of the five groups of matches, the participation of 20 teams is regarded as hosting the Asian Cup "test water". Saudi Arabia and Qatar two bidding countries are quite superior conditions, the AFC delegation is afraid that it is difficult to make a choice. If Qatar can host the 2023 Asian Cup, then the 2027 Asian Cup can be directly "transferred" to Saudi Arabia, which to a certain extent also relieves the pressure of the AFC.
Fans' summer viewing becomes a big problem
If Qatar does host the 2023 Asian Cup, it will pose a new problem. Although the teams can play in air-conditioned stadiums during the height of summer in June and July, if the fans of the participating teams travel to Qatar to watch the matches, how can they drive local tourism and consumption when the daytime temperature is over 50 degrees Celsius? Whether it is the AFC or Qatar, if you can host the Asian Cup, of course, I hope that the more fans of the participating teams, the better, in creating a good atmosphere at the same time, but also for the organizers to bring more revenue. But in such high temperatures, fans in addition to going to the stadium to watch the game, the other time how to start the "free travel"?
If the Asian Cup is postponed from June or July 2023 to January 2024, the winter season in Qatar, as was the case when Qatar hosted the 2011 Asian Cup, it will give rise to new issues. 2023 has been reported to FIFA, and FIFA has incorporated it into its calendar, which will need to be redrafted once the time is changed. The issue involves the recruitment of overseas players from Asian countries, which requires the unconditional release of players from various clubs.
And if it is postponed to January 2024, according to the AFC's calendar, the sixth U23 Asian Cup final will be held in this time frame, as well as the final stage of the men's Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and it is unlikely that the AFC will be able to arrange two tournaments in the same time frame. That said, there is little chance of the 2023 Asian Cup being postponed. If advanced, the same involves the need for FIFA to amend the calendar, so that the European and American clubs to release the problem, delay or advance the chain reaction triggered by more.
In any case, a change of venue for the 2023 Asian Cup would not only be a huge loss for China, but also a bigger challenge for the AFC.
