NEW DELHI: After the U-17 World Cups and the women’s Asian Cup, now the All India Football Federation has set its sights on hosting the AFC Asian Cup. On Wednesday, AIFF president Praful Patel formally launched the bid to host the premier continental event in 2027. India joins three others — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran — in bidding to host the Asian Cup. Uzbekistan pulled out of the race recently. The function was attended by sports minister Kiren Rijiju, former India defender Gouramangi Singh and current women’s star Ashalata Devi.
The bid documents will be submitted within the week to AFC, an official confirmed. India have already successfully hosted the 2017 U-17 World Cup and is currently preparing to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup and AFC Women’s Asian Cup. But it will not be easy to win this particular race considering the other countries in the fray.
“Competition will be tough but unless you try you will not get anything. Just like any other bidding country, we are also confident of winning the right to host the event. There will be diplomatic support also. It has taken a lot of hard work to reach the level we are at today, where we can think of hosting international events year on year. We’re continuously working on infrastructure upgradation and football development, and India would be honoured to be selected as the host for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup,” Patel stated. The sports minister voiced his enthusiasm for the bid and assured complete government support.”