The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has won the bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup.
The news was made during the AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain.
After India withdrew in December, Saudi Arabia was the only bidder left.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the kingdom’s minister of sports, said following the news, “We are eager to provide the biggest tournament in the competition’s history.”
The kingdom is changing right before our eyes, and we are eager to see what it will look like in 2027.
Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter in the world, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in profitable sporting events like the LIV Golf Tour, the Jeddah Formula One, and the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Asian Women’s Cup, the Asian Games with Olympic-sized competitions, and even the Asian Winter Games on artificial snow will be held in Saudi Arabia in the upcoming years. Saudi Arabia watched as its neighbour Qatar hosted the World Cup in November and December.
Along with a number of other important events, the desert kingdom is also interested in hosting the World Cup, the Summer Olympics, and possibly even the Winter Olympics.
All of this is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (the de facto ruler’s) great plan to modernise the Saudi economy and reduce its dependency on oil before the world switches to alternative fuels.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, predicted that Saudi Arabia would host a wonderful Asian Cup at the Manama congress.
Qatar will serve as the 2023 Asian Cup’s host nation. China had originally agreed to host it, but due to COVID, they withdrew.
Every four years, the Asian Cup is held. The United Arab Emirates served as the tournament’s host nation for its most recent iteration, which Qatar won.
Three AFC Asian Cup championships have been won by Saudi Arabia.
AFP
