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FBL-ASIA-2023-CHN
China officially bids for 2023 Asian Cup
SHANGHAI, March 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China has formally submitted a bid to
host the 2023 Asian Cup, state media said, another sign of the country’s
determination to eventually stage a football World Cup.
China has hosted the Asian Cup once before, in 2004, but its latest attempt
is significant because of President Xi Jinping’s stated desire for the
country to hold a World Cup.
The World Cup tournaments for 2030 or 2034 have regularly been mooted as
the most likely that China will go for.
Staging the 2023 Asian Cup would help prepare China for a World Cup, but it
faces stiff competition from South Korea.
Having the Asian Cup again on Chinese soil will “promote the popularisation
and development of football” in the country, Xinhua news agency said.
China reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in the UAE at the start
of this year, before going down 3-0 to Iran.
Fabio Cannavaro was named Marcello Lippi’s successor as coach of the
national team on Friday.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0829 hrs