Korea right to bid for AFC Asian Cup 2023

South Korea's national football team players train at Toyota Stadium in Japan, Tuesday. / Courtesy of the Korea Football Association

By John Duerden

The World Cup kicks off in November but there is another major tournament not far over the horizon. The 2023 Asian Cup is scheduled for next summer and it could be coming to South Korea. The competition, which takes place every four years, was originally scheduled to be hosted by China but the country relinquished those hosting rights in May. Beijing felt that as it was still pursuing a zero-COVID policy that it was unable to go ahead with welcoming fans, media and players from 24 nations.

South Korea has officially told the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that it is interested in replacing China. Qatar, Australia and Indonesia are the other three countries interested. The official bid books, which detail how the countries would organize it all, have to be submitted by the end of August. Then the decision will be made in October when the AFC meets.

The last time South Korea hosted the continental tournament was all the way back in 1960 when the Taeguk Warriors won the trophy. Neither has happened since then, in terms of Korea hosting or winning.

So it is time for that to change. The good news is that the 2002 World Cup co-host is the front-runner, especially with Japan deciding not to throw its hat into the ring. East Asia has not hosted the event since 2004 when it went to China. Since then, it has gone to West Asia twice thanks to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. There was also Southeast Asia in 2007 with Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand co-hosting. Australia stepped forward in 2015.

Korea, then, would keep the tournament in the region which is the preferred option for the AFC. Qatar hosted as recently as 2011 and is also in the running for 2027. The 2022 World Cup host is seen as a relatively safe pair of hands in these COVID-19 times and has stepped in to stage various events in the past couple of years. To give West Asia a third tournament out of the last four would not go down too well elsewhere, however, and understandably so. Australia had it less than a decade ago.

Not just that but giving the rights to those two would necessitate a change of dates. June and July are simply too hot in Qatar and it would have to take place in January 2024. Australia is co-hosting the Women's World Cup next summer and would not be able, or be allowed, to have both at the same time and would also have to switch. Indonesia is an interesting one but it being so long since Korea hosted, handing the tournament to the Land of the Morning Calm is the likely outcome as long as the bid is a strong one.

The Asian Cup is a big event, the second biggest after the World Cup. China had built or was building, ten new stadiums for the tournaments and saw it also as a warm-up for a future World Cup bid. Korea also needs to upgrade or renovate some of its 2002 stadiums and other arenas. A greater connection with Asia will also be mutually beneficial and there may well be a festival of soccer coming Korea's way next year.