{"id":39534,"date":"2025-04-12T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T05:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534"},"modified":"2025-04-12T05:00:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T05:00:36","slug":"india-submits-bid-to-host-2031-afc-asian-cup-faces-stiff-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534","title":{"rendered":"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"133\" data-end=\"384\">India has officially submitted its <em data-start=\"191\" data-end=\"221\">Expression of Interest (EoI)<\/em> to host the <strong data-start=\"234\" data-end=\"256\">2031 AFC Asian Cup<\/strong>, marking another bold step by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bring top-tier international football to the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"386\" data-end=\"556\">AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan confirmed the development, saying, <em data-start=\"466\" data-end=\"556\">\u201cYes, we have submitted the EoI to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup. Let us see how it goes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"558\" data-end=\"833\">India is among <strong data-start=\"573\" data-end=\"590\">seven nations<\/strong> that submitted bids before the March 31 deadline. The list includes football heavyweights <strong data-start=\"681\" data-end=\"729\">Australia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates<\/strong>, along with <strong data-start=\"742\" data-end=\"763\">Indonesia, Kuwait<\/strong>, and a <strong data-start=\"771\" data-end=\"784\">joint bid<\/strong> from <strong data-start=\"790\" data-end=\"832\">Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"835\" data-end=\"974\">Of these, Australia, UAE, South Korea, and Kuwait have previously hosted the tournament, making the competition for hosting rights intense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"976\" data-end=\"1256\">The <strong data-start=\"980\" data-end=\"1018\">Asian Football Confederation (AFC)<\/strong>, which opened the bidding process on November 27, 2024, received what President <strong data-start=\"1099\" data-end=\"1116\">Shaikh Salman<\/strong> called the <em data-start=\"1128\" data-end=\"1196\">\u201chighest ever number of Expressions of Interest in modern history\u201d<\/em>, highlighting the tournament&#8217;s growing global significance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1258\" data-end=\"1581\"><em data-start=\"1258\" data-end=\"1478\">\u201cThe unprecedented level of interest we have witnessed reflects both the high ambitions of the AFC\u2019s Member Associations and their increasing confidence in their own capabilities to host such a significant tournament,\u201d<\/em> Salman said during the AFC Executive Committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the 35th AFC Congress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1583\" data-end=\"1851\">The next step in the selection process will include a bidding workshop later this month. Participating nations will then submit detailed bid documentation, followed by an extensive evaluation by the AFC. The final host will be selected by the <strong data-start=\"1826\" data-end=\"1850\">AFC Congress in 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1853\" data-end=\"2150\">If selected, <strong data-start=\"1866\" data-end=\"1902\">India will automatically qualify<\/strong> for the 24-team tournament. Historically, India\u2019s best performance came in <strong data-start=\"1978\" data-end=\"1986\">1964<\/strong> when they finished as <strong data-start=\"2009\" data-end=\"2023\">runners-up<\/strong>. Since then, the team has struggled in the group stages \u2014 bowing out early in the <strong data-start=\"2106\" data-end=\"2126\">1984, 2011, 2019<\/strong>, and <strong data-start=\"2132\" data-end=\"2140\">2023<\/strong> editions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2152\" data-end=\"2490\">India has <strong data-start=\"2162\" data-end=\"2178\">never hosted<\/strong> the AFC Asian Cup. Previous attempts to bring the tournament to Indian soil \u2014 for the 2023 and 2027 editions \u2014 were withdrawn. The 2027 bid was pulled in <strong data-start=\"2333\" data-end=\"2350\">December 2022<\/strong>, shortly after <strong data-start=\"2366\" data-end=\"2384\">Kalyan Chaubey<\/strong> took over as AIFF President, citing that <em data-start=\"2426\" data-end=\"2477\">hosting major events was not a strategic priority<\/em> at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2492\" data-end=\"2590\">That decision cleared the way for <strong data-start=\"2526\" data-end=\"2542\">Saudi Arabia<\/strong> to become the sole host of the 2027 tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2592\" data-end=\"2801\">With the current EoI for 2031, India is once again in contention to stage <strong data-start=\"2666\" data-end=\"2711\">Asia\u2019s premier men\u2019s football competition<\/strong>, reflecting renewed ambition to grow the sport domestically and on the continental stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India has officially submitted its Expression of Interest (EoI) to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, marking another bold step by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bring top-tier international football to the country. AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan confirmed the development, saying, \u201cYes, we have submitted the EoI to host the 2031 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition - PP Newsline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition - PP Newsline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"India has officially submitted its Expression of Interest (EoI) to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, marking another bold step by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bring top-tier international football to the country. AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan confirmed the development, saying, \u201cYes, we have submitted the EoI to host the 2031 [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PP Newsline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-12T05:00:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"392\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adarsh Pal Gupta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adarsh Pal Gupta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534\",\"name\":\"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition - PP Newsline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-12T05:00:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9cc59a4aa1476e0c968013d27e345\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":392},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/\",\"name\":\"PP Newsline\",\"description\":\"Daily Newspaper &amp; Digital Media Platform\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9cc59a4aa1476e0c968013d27e345\",\"name\":\"Adarsh Pal Gupta\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/867089e44c107b1bc8da25ef42916793c06006f1677cff8065e83705cf1b377d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/867089e44c107b1bc8da25ef42916793c06006f1677cff8065e83705cf1b377d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adarsh Pal Gupta\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/ppnewsline.in\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition - PP Newsline","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition - PP Newsline","og_description":"India has officially submitted its Expression of Interest (EoI) to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, marking another bold step by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bring top-tier international football to the country. AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan confirmed the development, saying, \u201cYes, we have submitted the EoI to host the 2031 [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534","og_site_name":"PP Newsline","article_published_time":"2025-04-12T05:00:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":696,"height":392,"url":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adarsh Pal Gupta","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adarsh Pal Gupta","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534","url":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534","name":"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition - PP Newsline","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-12T05:00:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9cc59a4aa1476e0c968013d27e345"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AFC-Asian-Cup-696x392-1.jpg","width":696,"height":392},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?p=39534#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"India Submits Bid to Host 2031 AFC Asian Cup, Faces Stiff Competition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/","name":"PP Newsline","description":"Daily Newspaper &amp; Digital Media Platform","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9cc59a4aa1476e0c968013d27e345","name":"Adarsh Pal Gupta","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/867089e44c107b1bc8da25ef42916793c06006f1677cff8065e83705cf1b377d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/867089e44c107b1bc8da25ef42916793c06006f1677cff8065e83705cf1b377d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adarsh Pal Gupta"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/ppnewsline.in"],"url":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39536,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39534\/revisions\/39536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppnewsline.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}