KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Australia, Indonesia, South Korea and Qatar have submitted bids to replace China as host of the 2023 Asian Cup, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed yesterday.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced its decision to withdraw from hosting the 2023 Asian Cup due to concerns over Covid-19.
The initial deadline for submitting bids to stage the 2023 Asian Cup was at the end of June but the closing date was extended to July 15.
The Asian football governing body said in a statement today that the AFC executive committee will announce the new host for the 24-team tournament on October 17.
Malaysia are among the 24 teams who have qualified for the 2023 Asian Cup.
On June 14, coach Kim Pan Gon led Harimau Malaya to end a 42-year wait by qualifying on merit for the Asian Cup, after finishing second in Group E of the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers and advancing as one of the top five runners-up from six groups.
In the qualifiers, which took place at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Malaysia beat Turkmenistan 3-1, lost 2-1 to Bahrain and thrashed Bangladesh 4-1.
For the record, the last time Malaysia played in the Asian Cup was when they co-hosted the tournament in 2007, but they last qualified for the tournament on merit in the 1980 edition in Kuwait.
— Bernama
