The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regional soccer body has suspended the bidding process to host its quadrennial Asian Cup competitions in 2031 and 2035, after a request from global governing body FIFA to switch to even-numbered years.
The change to even-numbered years, likely 2032, 2036, and every four years thereafter, will bring the Asian Cup in line with other continental competitions such as the UEFA European Championships and the Africa Cup of Nations (which will become quadrennial in 2028 and beyond), which rotate every two years with the showpiece FIFA World Cup.
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AFC general secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John said in a statement: “This development will have a material impact on the scheduling and planning of the competitions. As the AFC works through the implications of this adjustment and considers the necessary revisions to its competition calendar, we believe it is considered appropriate and necessary to discontinue the current bidding process to avoid uncertainty in the hosting arrangements.”
While this, in the long run, will create consistency among FIFA’s global event calendar, it may have the adverse effect of detracting global attention from regional tournaments should competing competitions operate at the same time, similarly increasing competition for international media rights.
In February 2025, as many as eight nations entered the frame with six bids for the 2031 Asian Cup: Australia, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, South Korea, and a joint bid from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Of those eight, three (Australia, Kuwait, and South Korea) have also launched bids to host the 2035 edition of the tournament, with Japan also entering a proposal.
Saudi Arabia has already been confirmed as the host for the upcoming men’s edition in 2027, while Australia is preparing to stage the Women’s Asian Cup next month from March 1 to 21.
The most recent edition of the tournament in Qatar in 2023 broke attendance records, achieved 7.9 billion digital impressions, and had 60 broadcasters covering the event across 160 territories.
