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With 100 days to go to Asia’s most prestigious men’s tournament, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC) today unveiled the official slogan of the competition: Hayya Asia.
Presenting fervent fans of Asian football with the opportunity to have their voices heard, Hayya Asia was confirmed as the official slogan of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 from a shortlist of 11, following a global online engagement campaign launched on 12 September to mark the tournament’s four-month countdown.
Chairperson of the Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup Mariano V. Araneta Jr., who addressed representatives from the 24 participating teams at the 100 Days To Go milestone countdown event, held in conjunction with the Teams’ Workshop in Doha, Qatar, said: “The AFC has outlined its Vision of ensuring football remains the Continent’s most popular sport and Hayya Asia is a rallying call to the passionate and diverse supporters of Asian football to unite and celebrate the grandest-ever edition of Asia’s crown jewel to date.
“I have every faith that the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 will be an unrivalled success and on behalf of the AFC Executive Committee and the Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup, I must place on record our gratitude to our hosts, the Qatar Local Organising Committee for providing the best possible platform for Asia’s finest players to shine.”
Synonymous with audiences throughout the region, the Arabic-origin Hayya Asia translates into “Let’s go Asia!”. The slogan is welcoming, familiar and easy to pronounce for non-Arabic speakers, giving it universal appeal, and exemplifies the stature and ever-expanding reach of the Continent’s flagship men’s tournament.
At the same time, it serves as a clarion call to the participating teams and players to produce a performance of a lifetime in their pursuit of capturing the Continent’s most coveted prize whilst galvanising the Asian football community from across the globe, from fans, volunteers, match officials to unite in the world-renowned spirit of Asian solidarity.
For Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairman of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Local Organising Committee, hosting the AFC Asian Cup is about much more than football.
“Qatar is once again ready to welcome fans from across the world to celebrate the beautiful game. Hosting tournaments of this size and stature provide us with an important opportunity for cultural exchange and a platform to showcase the immense talents and human potential we have in Qatar and beyond. That is the true power of football,” said Sheikh Hamad.
The winner of the Official Slogan contest who voted for Hayya Asia and completed the quiz on the Continent’s oldest competition in the fastest time will be invited, together with a companion, to the opening match between defending champions Qatar and Lebanon at the iconic Lusail Stadium in Doha on January 12, 2024.
Meanwhile, the slogan reveal also coincides with the launch of the official countdown clock on the-AFC.com, which will run until the opening kick-off at 7pm local time.
Eagerly anticipated by hundreds of millions of fans worldwide, the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup is poised to go down as one of the most groundbreaking in history – it will be the first to be held at FIFA World Cup venues, the first to feature women match officials as well as the Video Assistant Referee system from kick-off to the Final on February 10.
