June 26 – World football focus may be shifting towards the US with the 2026 World Cup and the recently announced hosting of the expanded 2025 Club World Cup, but AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has highlighted that Asia is still playing a major role post Qatar 2022 on the world stage.
FIFA will hold its 74th FIFA Congress, 17 May 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand, while the FIFA Council has also appointed Indonesia as the host of the U17 World Cup 2023 to be played at the end of the year.
Uzbekistan will host the Futsal World Cup 2024 while the Beach Soccer World Cup 2023, which is due to take place in the United Arab Emirates, will now be played 15–25 February 2024.
What is interesting about all the new hosting awards is that not one has gone to Europe.
“It is a matter of reassurance and happiness that Asia continues to lead in global hosting,” said Salman.
“We have gone through many challenges, but our strength was in our unity and our belief in our development plans based on trust and partnership, and the football passion that made Asian football the interface of global football events, the latest of which was the historic success of Qatar’s organization of the 2022 World Cup, and before that India’s organization of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022, and the UAE’s organization of the FIFA Club World Cup 2021, at a time when Saudi Arabia is preparing to organize the Club World Cup 2023, and Australia to organize the Women’s World Cup 2023 in partnership with New Zealand.”
Salman emphasised that the Asian region has both increased its football capacity and capability, as well as gained the confidence and support of the rest of the football world.
“The achievement of that confidence is the result of teamwork, planning, construction, governance of the executive and procedural tracks, access to the confidence of supporting institutions and investment sponsorships, encouragement of infrastructure and raising the efficiency of Asian human capabilities roundly. This enabled us to proceed with the continuity of achieving the global aspirations that the continent of Asia deserves,” he said.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1742940377labto1742940377ofdlr1742940377owedi1742940377sni@n1742940377osloh1742940377cin.l1742940377uap1742940377
