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Qatar Football Association (QFA) President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is looking forward to making the 2023 AFC Asian Cup – Qatar a festival of friendship for the entire continent.
Speaking after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee’s decision to award Qatar the hosting rights for the next edition of the competition, Al Thani emphasised on his country’s legacy of hosting major events.
“Following China’s withdrawal of its hosting rights due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation there, we saw it as a duty for Qatar to step up,” said Al Thani.
“We believed that Asian football needed us to put forward our bid, especially since we are already prepared for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We hosted the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 which was a celebration for all Arabs, so we want to make the AFC Asian Cup 2023 a festival for all our friends throughout Asia.”
In turn, QFA General Secretary Mansour Al Ansari expressed his gratitude to the AFC for its trust, reiterating his nation’s readiness to deliver the 24-team tournament.
“We value the faith AFC has placed on Qatar to host this major event. It is a great achievement for us in Qatar. We are one month away from hosting the FIFA World Cup, so we don’t foresee any issues. We have the facilities to host a successful AFC Asian Cup.”
Qatar is set to become the first nation to host the AFC Asian Cup three times, having previously hosted the event in 1988 and 2011. Qatar 2023 Bid Vice President and Qatar Stars League CEO Hani Ballan believes 2023 will be their best yet.
“We are delighted to be hosting the AFC Asian Cup for the third time in our history. In 2011, we organised a memorable tournament, and we aspire to do that again in 2023,” said Ballan.
“We want it to be a historic tournament be it in terms of organization, technical level or viewership and attendance. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the bidding project for this competition which is by far the biggest in the continent.
“We believe that in Qatar, we have all the capabilities to host this tournament, so it was a no-brainer to put forward our bid the moment we learned about China’s withdrawal. We believe we will be up to the expectations of the AFC and deliver the best AFC Asian Cup yet.”
Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) expressed his appreciation for the working teams behind Qatar’s successful bid.
“Congratulation to everyone involved in Qatar’s winning bid to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023,” he said.
“We would like to thank the Qatari youth who worked hard to ensure this hosting bid is of the highest professional standard.”
Qatar’s neighbours welcomed its hosting of the competition with Kuwait Football Association President Abdullah Al Shaheen congratulating QFA for winning the hosting rights to the AFC Asian Cup 2023, while Oman Football Association tweeted wishing Qatar the best of luck in organizing the tournament.
